On Drawing Trees And Nature

On Drawing
Trees and Nature

A Classic Victorian Manual with

Lessons and Examples

J. D. HARDING

DOVER PUBLICATIONS, INC.

Mineola, New York

PREFACE

The sale of two large Editions of this Work, and its favourable reception, not only by
the Public-, but by the Profession, — from many distinguished Members of which the Author
has received the most gratifying testimony of its usefulness, — afford not only a strong
assurance of the truth of the Principles propounded, but also evince a decided approval of
the method by which they are explained and practically illustrated. The Author, thus
encouraged, has, in preparing a Third Edition of the Work, spared no paina to render it
still more deserving of Public favour.

Among the improvements which have been made in the present Edition, the following
may be enumerated as the most considerable* — The instructions, which, in the two former
Editions were confined to the Use of the Lead Pencil, have in the present been rendered
equally applicable to the Use of the Chalk. This extension seemed to be required in
consequence of the more extended employment of the Chalk, as an Instrument of Art,
since the appearance of the first Edition. Of late, indeed, since the manufacture of Tinted
Paper has been so much improved, and its use, consequently, increased, the Chalk has
almost entirely superseded the Lead Pencil for drawing on such paper. The whole work
has been carefully revised ; the Instructions have been, as much as possible, simplified, in
order that they may be the more readily understood; and that the Student may be spared
the trouble of so frequently turning to the Plates, Cuts have been introduced into the
text in proximity to the passages to which they relate. With respect to the Plates, all
the subjects are new except one; and every one, from the most simple to the most
complicated, will be found to illustrate either directly or indirectly some important
Principle in the practice of Art. In the execution of the Plates, the Author has availed
himself of the most recent improvements in Lithography. Those on tinted paper — with
the effect of Drawings touched with white — are in the same style as the Author's " Sketches
at Home and Abroad," which appeared in 1837, and were among the first Examples of
Lithographic Drawings executed in this manner in England.

To elucidate and inculcate the Elementary Principles of Art, founded on an observation
of Nature, and to show how they can be most efficiently applied by such an instrument
as the Chalk or Lead Pencil, has been the Author's aim in every portion of the Work.
He recommends no maxims from his own individual practice; for though nearly all the
Examples! are drawn by himself, it is not on that account that the Student's attention is
directed to them, but because they exemplify Principles, the truth of which may at all times
be tested by a reference to Nature. He has endeavoured to show the Student the advantage
of adhering to such Principles in every step of his progress; for those only can be said
to study Art advantageously who, looking continually to Nature, apply the means and
materials of Art, at their command, in conformity with her dictates. It has therefore

PREFACE

been his desire to place before those who wish to study the art of Design, such simple
rules for their guidance as will enable them, in the first place, to learn how to look at
Nature, and then how to represent her by Art.

Some works on Design, though very ably written, are not sufficiently elementary or
practical for beginners ; while others present little more than a copious catalogue of
materials, as if the method of rightly using them was so plain as to require no explanation.
In others, again, the Authors seem to consider that exellence in Art is chiefly shown by
a disregard of Nature ; and the works of the greatest Artists are referred to in confirma-
tion of the absurd proposition, — as if their chief merit consisted in their very faults and
mannerisms ; while, in truth, such Artists are only to be considered greati from their general
adherence to Nature, and in spite of the defects resulting from a peculiar mode of practice.
In this way, dogmas deduced, or, rather, extorted, from the capricious practice of parti-
cular Artists, are set forth as infallible rules for the Student's guidance, instead of
philosophical principles, founded on the unchanging Laws of Nature.

It appeared to the Author, that the disadvantages above alluded to might be remedied
by providing the Student with a Work, such as is here offered to him, explaining the
Principles of Elementary Art by a reference to Nature, and showing, by Examples,
how they are to be carried into Practice. He trusts that the Work will be of service,
not only to those who intend to devote themselves to Art as a profession, but also to
those who may be desirous of acquiring a practical knowledge of it, either as an elegant
accomplishment, or as a useful aid in other pursuits.

With the view to promote this, and in order to furnish the Student with assistance to
which he may continually refer, as well as to make his work more decidedly useful, the Author
has increased the number of Plates, and the Pages of Illustration, much beyond what he
originally thought would have been necessary. The course he has followed has been
suggested to him by his experience in actual instruction ; and he has endeavoured to show
how, by so simple an instrument as The Ciialk or Lead Pencil, such a knowledge
of Art may be acquired, as may lead to eventual success.

The chief object of this Work is, to explain the Principles of Elementary Art, and to
teach the Student how to apply them by means of the Chalk or Lead Pencil. When he
has sufficiently mastered what is here placed before him, he may then proceed to the study
of Composition, Colour, and General Effect- These he will find explained and illustrated
in " The Principles and Practice of Art," a work which the Author annoimccd in the Pre-
face to the second Edition of the <f Elementary Art," and which he has recently published*

To his friends, E. Landseer, R. A., and W. P- Frith, A.RA., the Author is
indebted for the subjects in Plates 2, 3, and 4. In reference to the other Plates, it is
only necessary for him to add, that they are from his own Sketches, the subjects of which
have all been taken from Nature.

4, Gordon Square,
University College, London,

CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTION,

Elementary Practice to be accompanied by the explanation of first principles, I. — The faculty of observation
and comparison to be exercised, 2,— How Nature may be best interpreted by Art, 3.— Importance of
commencing the Study of Art on right principles, 4,— The usefulness of Art, 5. — Erroneous views
of many persons on the subject, 0. — Causes of the want of success in the pursuit of Art, 7. — 11 Bold "
anrl "Soft' 1 Styles, 9. — Importance of practising with the Chalk or Pencil, 9. — Progressive Course
of Study, 11.

CHAPTEE I.

GENERAL REMARKS ON THE USE OF TIIE CHALK, OR LEAD PENCIL.

The evidence of the mechanical process by which a likeness to Nature is obtained, ought to be as much as
possible concealed, 1 3. — Of Lines, their utility and defects, 14. — Of the application of Lines to indicate
character or quality, 15. — Excellence in Art not a gift but an attainment, 16.

CHAPTER IL

ON FORM.

Importance of correct drawing, 17, — Applicability of the Chalk, or Pencil, to the delineation of Forms, 17. —
Perfection of Form in each class of objects, 18. — Onr judgment on the productions of An influenced
by our feelings, as well as by our knowledge, 19. — Of Selection, 19, — To clothe objects properly, a
knowledge of their Forms requisite, 20. —Of the different Forms presented by objects, according to
their position and the direction in which they are viewed, 21. — Disadvantage of commencing too early
with Colours, 23.

CHAPTER III.

ON THE APPLICATION OF THE CHALK, OR PENCIL, TO THE DRAWING OF FORMS,

The effects of the hesitation felt by beginners, 25. — How confidence and precision are to be attained, 25. —
Defects of a hard Outline, 25. — Mode of holding the Pencil, 27. — Of determining the inclination and
position of Lines, 27 — Of drawing Curvilinear Figures f 28.— The different effects of Outlines of a
different kind, 80. — Where Character should be chiefly displayed, 31, — Of the amount of Imitation
required, 81.

CHAPTER IV.

ON COPYING, AS PREPARATORY TO THE STUDY OF NATURE.

Of the right intention of Copying, 33. — Drawing from Memory, 34. — Difficulties at first attendant on the
attempt to draw from Nature, 35. — The habit of merely Copying, without regard to principles, an
impediment to progress in Art, 3B.— Mode of determining the relative situation of objects, 38.

CHAPTER V.

ON FOLIAGE.

The importance of Foliage in Landscape, and the apparent difficulty of its truthful imitation, 40.— The
Artist not required to distinguish the leaves of trees with the precision of a Botanist, 41 — 11 Slight"
and " Highly-finished 11 Drawings, 42 — The idea of Form conveyed not by the dark outline alone,
but as it is viewed in connection with the space which it encloses, 42. — Shade suggestive of the
rotundity of objects, and of the presence of Light, 43.— Property of Shade, 43.— The attention

CONTENTS

attracted by the illuminated, parts of objects, 44. — Nature puts on the light f the Artist, using the
Chalk, or Pencil, puts on the sfuide, and leaves the light, 44. — General properties of Shade to be
observed in depicting Foliage, 45. — Common errors in depicting Foliage pointed out, 46. — Of the
Outlines, 46. — Relation between the form of the Leaf and the form of the Masses or Folds of Leaves,
47. — Arrangement of the Groups of Leaves, 48* — Flexibility and Rotundity, 49. — Requisites in the
outline of Foliage, 51 t 52, — Their exemplification, 64 — 57,

CHAPTER VI.

ON STEMS AND BRANCHES.

General properties of Stems and Branches, 58* — Mode of properly attaching the Branches to the
Stem, 59.— Bark, 60.— Rotundity, 61.— Direction of Light, 62.— Mode of growth in Branches, 63.—
Difficulty of tracing the Branches, 64. — Semi«trausparency of Foliage and Opacity of Stems and
Branches, 65. — Diligent practice, guided by knowledge, required to insure success, 65. — Forms of
the Stems, Leading Branches, and Folds, 67. — Uselessness of copying the forms of Foliage minutely,
68. — Errors pointed out, 69. — Mode of study to be observed, 69. — Properties of the Beech, 70. —
Importance of first acquiring the power to draw some one tree well, 72.

CHAPTER VII.

ON FOREGROUNDS.

Grass and Herbage, 74. — Evenness and unevenness of Ground, 75. — Mode of representing the blades
and masses of Grass, 75. — Spaces between the masses, 75. — Manner of forming Leaves, 75. — Effect
of various kinds of plants in Landscape, 76. — Similar lines expressive of different qualities, accordingly
as they are employed, 76. — Knowledge of the separate parts requisite, 77.

CHAPTER VIII.

ON LIGHT AND SHADE.

Solidity indicated by Light and Shade, 79. — Character of Surface as seen through Shade, 80. — Difficulty
of detecting the precise outline of objects, 81. — Forms rendered more distinct by contrast, 81. — Ideas
of roundness and solidity suggested by Light and Shade, 82. — Natural Shade and Accidental
Shadow, 82. — Mode of representing Shades and Shadows, 84.

CHAPTER IX.

ON THE USE OF THE BRUSH.

Different effects of the Chalk, or Pencil, and the Brush, 86. — Comparative advantages and disadvantages
of each, 86 — 88. — Mode of attaching the several masses of foliage to each other, 89.- — Shade and
Local Colour to be kept distinct, 89. — Best mode of operation, 89, — Washes of Colour for Skies and
Distances to be carried over the places of darker intervening objects, 91. — Advantages of a knowledge
of the true principles of Art, 9 1 .

APPENDIX.

ON THE MATERIALS.

Paper, smooth and rough, 93. — Chalk and Pencils, 94, — Coloured Paper, 95, — Use of the Stump, 96. —
Mode of obliterating Chalk or Pencil Marks, 96. — Of fixing Drawings on the Paper, 07. — Of the
facilities for Study and Practice afforded by Lithographic Drawings, 97.

SUPPLEMENTARY PLATES.

99,

ELEMENTARY ART

INTRODUCTION.

IN the following pages are embodied the results of the Author's experience
in imparting a knowledge of Elementary Art, accompanied by graphic
examples, such as he has found to be best suited to impress its principles
effectually on the mind. Having proved the usefulness of the precepts and the
examples in communicating, with facility, both practical and theoretical knowledge,
he has been induced to lay them before the Public. The wish, on his own part,
to extend assistance, has been seconded by the entreaties of many, who have
desired to be directed aright in their views of Art, and in their efforts to acquire
skill in its practice, whether as an auxiliary to other pursuits, or for the purpose
of cultivating it as a profession.

The invaluable Art of Lithography, by affording the greatest facilities for
the publication of Books of Lessons, and Studies of all kinds, and for placing
in the hands of the Public, at a very moderate cost, Original Drawings by accom-
plished Artists, has contributed not only to the more general dissemination of the
productions of Pictorial Art, but also to increase the desire to become acquainted
with its principles and practice. Such examples, however, are of comparatively
small value as subjects of imitation merely, unless at the same time the Student
receive instruction in the principles of Art, as well as in the manipulation of
the materials.

To render such examples really profitable to the young in Art, for whom
they are intended, some explanation of its first principles is necessary, in order
that they may know what they are about; for without this knowledge they will
never advance in Art beyond the rank of mere copyists of other people's works :
however acute their sight may be, or ready their hand at fac-simile imitation, they

2

INTRODUCTION.

will never be able, of themselves, to select and truthfully depict the beauties
of Nature, After having copied any of those examples, they require
something more than to be told that what they have done is either too large or
too small, too wide or too narrow, too light or too dark, — all such mistakes
might be self-evident, requiring no master to point them out ; such information
acquaints the pupil with what he probably very well knew, but affords him no
real instruction in the principles of Art.

Some explanation is required of the various methods employed to charac-
terise the various objects : whether certain modes of depicting their forms and
qualities be in accordance with the principles of Nature as applied to the practice
of Art ; and whether an attractive result may have been a fortunate accident, or
may have been intentionally worked out by the Artist. Something is required
which shall exercise and cultivate the faculties of observation, comparison, and
reflection, so that whilst the mind is thus acquiring more distinct ideas of forms
and their relations, it may be prepared to perceive and appreciate the higher
beauties with which Nature has surrounded us on all sides, and at the same
time be rendered capable of more readily acquiring distinct ideas on other
subjects,

It is not to those only who intend to study Art as a profession that I desire
to address myself, but to those also who take it up as a pleasurable pursuit.
There are many who regard it as of easy attainment ; and if they discover in
themselves an aptitude for imitation, at once decide on becoming either pro-
fessional artists, or amateurs, concluding, though most erroneously, that they
are in possession of an intuitive talent which will enable them to attain in u Six
Easy Lessons," a thorough mastery over Art. Others, highly susceptible of
its beauties, but unable to trace, in the works of the painter, effects to their
causes, believe it to be a mystery, and that its charms are attributable to the
power of innate genius, without which every attempt must be futile.

The chief object which the Author has ever kept in view in this undertaking
is to remove those erroneous and too generally prevalent notions, and to cultivate
a just taste for a useful and intellectual pursuit. The difficulties which present
themselves at the commencement, are such as are common to every other
important pursuit ; and are surmounted in proportion as a knowledge of correct
principles is attained, and as intelligence becomes operative in guiding the hand.

INTRODUCTION

Excellence is to be obtained, not in the practice of the style, or more correctly
speaking, the manner of any model, but from a knowledge of the principles of
Art and the truths of Nature, which alone should suggest the adoption of
every style or manner. Unless the study of Art be based on such truths, its
practice can only end in disappointment.

Art is the graphic interpretation of Nature ; and every painter either
expresses his ideas of her in his own idiomatic pictorial language; or, guided
by his knowledge, and his own peculiar views, embodies, in his own style, the
excellencies of another. Every student in Art must not only be furnished, in the
first instance, with ideas, but with some graphic means of expressing them ; and
as the first difficulty to be overcome in Art is the attainment of signs for the
expression of ideas, it is to this that the attention of the student will be chiefly
directed throughout this volume.

Every original painter relies chiefly on himself for the characters, or graphic
language, which he employs in his interpretation of Nature. He diligently
studies her beauties, and investigates the various modes adopted by his predecessors
and contemporaries in their imitations of her originals, deriving from each such
aid as may be most subservient to his own views; and thus making their thoughts
and practice conducive to the eventual attainment of a method both true and
original. The amateur is differently placed ; Art, with him, is but a secondary
consideration, a part only of his education. Exempted from the necessity of
becoming conspicuous for high and peculiar attainments, he is enabled to save
himself much time, by at once adopting the ideas of others, without studying for
himself their natural prototypes. He should be careful, however, to assure
himself that the productions of Art which he selects for imitation have been
wrought from a knowledge of Nature ; for on his ability to make a right selection
depends the profitable employment of his time.

Like language, Art also has its rules ; and it is within its province not only
to express some ideas more powerfully than written language, but also to
distinctly represent others that are wholly inexpressible by its more arbi-
trary signs.

Those who would aspire to pourtray the creations of a vivid fancy, or to
depict Nature, faithfully and forcibly in all her charming and endless variety, must
consent to adopt such means as are employed in the acquisition of written

4

INTRODUCTION.

language itself. None ever indulge a hope of learning a language unknown
to them by merely tracing its characters, or transcribing a few passages from
books written in it ; none would be so unreasonable as to suppose that they could
attain any degree of literary excellence by imitating the peculiar handwriting of
some celebrated author. Why, then, should any one expect to attain excellence
in Art by the mere mimicking of its characters, as employed by any particular
master? The belief, however, is all but universal, that mechanical copying is
the ready road to such excellence ; and years of the most precious portion of life
are but too frequently wasted in mind-less imitations of other people's modes of
representing Nature. Those who copy, however accurately, may continue to do
so through a long life with unabated zeal, and yet never be able to express
by means of Art one original idea.

If the study of Art be commenced on right principles, and steadily pur-
sued, skill in its practice may be attained by all in proportion to their general
aptitude for other intellectual pursuits. Art, if properly viewed, should be
esteemed an indispensable part of a liberal education ; for who is there amongst
the many young men daily leaving our public schools and universities, with
leisure and fortune at their command, that would not feel it to be an ac-
quisition? It has, indeed, been called a new sense, from the gratification it
affords, and the power it gives of fixing scenes, persons, and events, to which
the memory can refer. Who is there to whom in future life such a pursuit
would not be delightful, if not eminently useful? It would afford a delightful
retrospect to the nobleman and gentleman who have sought foreign climes in
order to extend their knowledge of the world, but whose recollections of
scenes and places they have visited, perhaps for the first and last time, are every
day becoming more and more indistinct. What a source of pleasurable interest
to themselves, to be enabled, with the pencil, to recall them, both to the mind
and the eye, with truth, freshness, and reality! The world has been greatly
benefited by the valuable information derived from Pictorial Art. Without fatigue,
all the ends of the earth, its inhabitants, its forms and features, organic and
inorganic, are rendered familiar to us. It brings home to our hearths the reliques
and vestiges of former ages ; it records what " Time's effacing fingers" are daily
obliterating ; it enlarges on all sides our field of mental vision, and becomes daily
a more indispensable coadjutor to the extension of knowledge. However desirable

INTRODUCTION

5

in other instances, skill in Art is highly important in the profession of Surgery ;
for it is an undeniable fact, that the Medical man may, within the compass of an
ordinary volume, procure for himself more valuable and varied materials to refresh
his memory, and apply to daily recurring cases, than he would be able either to
gather or to retain in the shape of preparations ; and this, too, without hazard or
difficulty, and at a less cost of time and trouble : and many distinguished prac-
titioners have most successfully availed themselves of Art, as a means of imparting
information which could not otherwise be conveyed-* To how many of our
Soldiers and Sailors are we not indebted for our knowledge by graphic representa-
tion of the scenes in which they have travelled and fought ? The Lawyer who
can draw, has thus an additional language to assist him in eliciting or affording
explanations where every other language fails. To the Engineer and Mecha-
nician, it is absolutely necessary : — in short, there are few conditions of life in
which it would fail to prove a most useful auxiliary, applicable to many purposes
not contemplated until its powers are tested. As an accomplishment, it is no
small part of its recommendation that it has often proved a most valuable
resource in the vicissitudes of fortune.

Seeing the general usefulness of Art, it seems truly astonishing that, as a
branch of education, it should be so much neglected. This neglect appears the
more striking, when it is considered that, under proper instruction, all might
acquire sufficient knowledge for every practical purpose. The youthful and
the least informed mind may be initiated into a knowledge of the principles of
Art without more consideration of innate predisposition than is looked for in
regard to other studies. Does any parent ask what degree of genius in youth
is necessary to the acquirement of Latin and Greek, or of any other language ?
or for a natural inclination sufficiently marked towards any other branch of a
general education? All who are required to receive what is termed a good
or liberal education, are, without much reference to native talent, placed in
circumstances favourable for its attainment. Yet, with reference to Art, it is

* If the Student derives much of his most valuable knowledge, during his attendance at the
Lecture-Room and the Hospital, from a progressive series of Anatomical Plates, how much more would
delineations, founded upon his own experience, in after life, with observations on the cases, form an
invaluable storehouse of surgical facts, applicable to new accidents and presentations, and always at hand
to assist the uncertainty of memory?

6

INTRODUCTION 1 .

the reverse of all this : every parent first desires to discover in his children some
demonstrations of natural inclination for it ; and not until satisfied on this head
does he venture to place them under instructors ; and then only as an experiment
to ascertain if his conjectures concerning their talents be correct. Not (infre-
quently, from his own ignorance of any benefits derivable from Art, he is led
to look upon it merely as busy idleness — a pastime, occasionally filling up a few
vacant hours; or, at best, merely affording — more especially from the hand
of a daughter — some trifling ornaments for the drawing-room, whose appearance
is not generally improved by such family decorations. These are the successors
of the ancient family of samplers, and of the yet more ridiculous pretensions
to pictures, wherein the Gentle Shepherdess, Charlotte at the Tomb of Werter,
or some equally touching incident, was most elaborately set forth in gaudy silks
and worsteds. Such tawdry inanities, in by-gone days, passed for taste, and
occupied the place of that which now, in its turn, should be removed for what
is better and more intellectual. From the boy is expected some glaring and ample
display, and he is encouraged to attempt something great ; which, when com-
pleted, by the finishing touches of an abler hand, — concealing the young artist's
want of power, or correcting his mistakes,— is viewed by indulgent friends and
relatives as an indisputable mark of his genius. The youths themselves,
ungratified by the applause which they know to be undeserved, are happy for
the time in gaining the box of colours (or paints, as they call them), with all
the enticing paraphernalia so adapted to the waste for which their prolific
ingenuity never fails to find ample scope. When older, they learn too late how
little real knowledge they have acquired; and, disappointed with a practice in
which much of their time has been irksomely, because fruitlessly, spent, they
attach no real value to Art, but rather look on it with disdain.

Those who do not apply for instruction in Art until after their education
in other respects has been completed, have, at this advanced period, to contend
against many disadvantages. Their time is then no longer at their own disposal,
on account of their being immersed in pursuits of profit or pleasure ; and their
matured minds enable them to comprehend the theory of Art so readily and
so fully, that they have, in consequence, too little patience to apply it, and
to overcome the mechanical difficulties necessarily attached to the practice.
Disinclined to submit to the labour requisite to overcome the preliminary

INTRODUCTION.

7

difficulties, and hoping to find some " easy style," they wander from one Artist
to another, till, wearied with the fruitless search, and disappointed in their
hopes of quickly attaining excellence, they abandon the pursuit of Art, —
ending, as they begun, in error; for they ascribe their want of success to then-
want of genius, — whereas the true cause was their neglect of employing means
within their power. Generally speaking, it is better not to enter upon .the
study of Art too c arl}- ; for, as it is an appeal to the mind, and not, as com-
monly supposed, to the eye only, and requires reflection, discrimination, and
judgment in the proper application of its means, it may be taken up with the
best prospect of success by those who are sufficiently advanced to possess such
qualifications.

Tl lese observations, though true as regards Amateurs, do not equally apply
to those who would devote themselves to Art as a Profession ; for as their business
is to excel, and, if possible, to carry the pursuit beyond their predecessors (an
arduous and difficult task), or to strike out some new objects for attainment, they
should never take it up unless naturally predisposed to do so ; but when once
determined, they should devote themselves heart and soul to the undertaking
the moment that circumstances will permit.

Success in the Artist or Amateur depends on the general powers of the
mind, and on these being rightly directed. The method here presented, is
intended to assist the Master to explain his Art in such a manner, that his time
and talent may not be thrown away, nor the Pupil labour in vain. That this is
too frequently the case, numbers of those who both give and receive Lessons can
amply testify. And why is this ? Because the Artist is called upon to explain
how he paints his Pictures, or, in other words, to teach his "style;" for those
who apply to him, but too frequently seek only to know the particular colours he
uses, and how he compounds, and spreads them over a given surface. From
want of the necessary previous information in his Pupil, he, indeed, can rarely
attempt more: prepared for the opposition to his assurances that the Pupil is
beginning at the wrong end, and, knowing or fearing that his endeavours to
impart really valuable, because rudimental, instruction, would be unavailing, he
yields, and makes a semblance of teaching an ambitious aspirant to write the
language of Art, before he has mastered its alphabet. Let us watch the Lesson,
and examine its results. All are struck by the readiness with which the Painter

s

INTRODUCTION.

produces a pleasing effect in his Picture — it has been the business perhaps of
a few hours ; the Pupil has learned what colours are used — their mixture — and
how applied ; knows the peculiar qualities belonging to them — how, if wrong,
they are to be removed ; he has seen the mechanism of the work — but nothing
more. All the complexity of thought necessary to its production must be going
on at the same time, but the Painter cannot stop to explain the various reasons
which influence his operations, still less to describe the elementary and progressive
steps by which he at length acquired his enviable power. Unhappily, his Pupil
can do no more than follow the mechanical progress of the work with his eye,
without being able to follow the Artist in his mind. Thus he witnesses the
completion of Picture after Picture, and, if he gains any information, it is of Mich
a kind as he can rarely or never apply for himself. As yet, he has not learned
the "knack" he sought; and, after a like trial of another and another Master, he
at length discovers that he has indeed begun at the wrong end. He has not
taken into consideration the years of previous study ;— the thousand failures that
preceded success ; — the stores derived from the study of Nature and Art ; —
the materials collected the experience ; though all these have been silently
and invisibly operating, and the result is now seen concentrated in the Drawing
or Picture before him. The ease, the freedom, the decision, at once surprise and
delight; but the labour of years, not of hours, has been witnessed. Does the
Pupil believe it possible that so much knowledge can be made available to him by
the practice of a few hours ? — knowledge, to gather and develop which, the Artist
has brought into action all his enthusiasm and the most unwearying industry.
It is enough, by way of answer, to recall the well known anecdote of Sir Joshua
Reynolds, who, when one of his sitters paid for his picture, and observed it was
for three hours' work, replied, " No, Sir, it is for the work of thirty years." How
different is the plan pursued in regard to other Teachers, when imparting instruc-
tion in the various other branches of a liberal education ! They are permitted to
begin with the elements of the knowledge required. The Musician begins by
teaching the value of the notes, their names, &c. The Linguist, from the
alphabet, proceeds through the orthography of the words, their sounds and
meaning, and from their grammatics 1 agreement to the finished sentence. The
Artist, however, strange to say, is almost invariably required to begin with the
end, and to deceive his Pupil by pretending to impart in a few hours that

INTRODUCTION,

9

which he has devoted a life to acquire. I lay particular stress on these mistakes,
as they are the real impediments to a more general diffusion of a sound know-
ledge of Art.

There are other errors equally fatal to the acquisition of Art. Some persons,
whose ambition does not tempt them beyond the use of the Chalk or Pencil,
choose their models according to their natural dispositions, selecting such as
are "bold" or "soft" Indeed, all works of Art are distinguished by them under
one or other of these appellations, and are estimated accordingly. By such mis-
bestowed admiration, they unfortunately betray their own want of knowledge;
for surely nothing can be more absurd than the delight too commonly expressed
at seeing Rocks and Trees, Stocks and Stones, " so attractively soft," — a quality
at variance with their very nature. There are also many who appreciate the
merits of an Artist by the amount of labour visible in his works ; and who dwell
with admiration on the numberless times it has been necessary for him to retouch
a Picture. In other pursuits, such tests rather make the want of ability the
more apparent The admiration bestowed on others for their "boldness and
dash" (the usual expressions) is equally mistaken, where the boldness consists
in the reckless freedom with which every principle of Art and Nature is violated ;
where every particle of resemblance is unheeded, nay, almost avoided, for the sake
of exhibiting an appearance of power, when, in reality, ignorance is rendered
the more apparent from the assumed disguise. For examples of the bold style
(and bold it truly is so to outrage Nature), and of the highly finished or soft
style, see Plates 14 and 15. The general errors relative to instruction in Art,
and in the selection of "bold" or "soft" examples as models, are my apologies
for noticing them.

These prevalent, and even fashionable, errors, are not only fatal to the
development of real talent, but are directly opposed to the acquirement of that
knowledge which can alone give to Amateurs the power to appreciate Art, or
the ability to practise it with success.

Amateurs and Students will do well to attend to the advice of the Artist
who urges them to use the Chalk or Pencil; for both, though simple, are yet
effective instruments in the practice of elementary Art : indeed, the true foun-
dation of Art is to be laid in the mastery over one or the other. There is no
" royal road " for either Artist or Amateur, and there are not two different roads

10

INTRODUCTION.

respectively adapted to each ; consequently, if in this work the road be shortened,
or in any manner smoothened, it is as imperative on the one as on the other to
adopt it. Whatever may be their expectations, I can confidently assure them,
that, unless they will devote their time to a right pursuit of Art, they can never
hope to succeed in any respect, much less to become Painters of Pictures. Can it
be denied, that it would be much more desirable, to devote sufficient time to acquire
sound information, and the power to skilfully use the Chalk or Pencil, and to be
alive to all the charms of Nature and Art, rather than to libel and outrage both
by unmeaning "boldness 1 ' or "softness?" This is but too frequently done by
those who endeavour to reach at once a degree of excellence, which can only be
attained by a long course of unremitted study and constant practice.

It has been the ordinary fate of Art in these days, notwithstanding the
advantages which it offers, to be looked upon as little better than a plaything.
This arises from a want of perception of the importance of Art, and from an
opinion of its not being within the reach of regular instruction. Works of Art
are indeed looked upon as the residt of some especial gift, with which Artists are
endowed by Nature. There can, however, be no greater mistake. Can persons
be great in Art, and yet be in all other respects without talent ? Or, do the most
highly gifted in other respects, understand Art without the aid of observation and
reflection? Without these they can neither justly appreciate its merits, nor
derive true pleasure from its beauties; and, in consequence, much of the Book
of Nature is sealed to them. All her grand and graceful combinations are lost
on those who refuse to study properly the only means which can open their eyes
to behold, and their minds to receive, the varied impressions of her grandeur
and beauty.

The study of the Chalk or Pencil, unaided by Colour, the one grand object
of most Amateurs, offers little to attract their attention. Without troubling
themselves to reflect on what may be the advantages derivable from the use
of those simple instruments of Art, they at once despise them as unworthy of
consideration. Captivated by the charms of Colour, they neglect the preliminary
study of Form and Composition, and thus involve themselves in inextricable diffi-
culties* These they generally ascribe to a want of natural talents, though with
as much reason as the mariner, who had never studied the science of Navigation,
would attribute his shipwreck to a want of genius. Sir Joshua Reynolds has

INTRODUCTION.

11

remarked, that " those who have never observed the gradation by which Art is
acquired, who only see what is the full result of long labour and application, of an
infinite number and infinite variety of acts (and such is the progress towards the
power of painting Pictures), are naturally apt to conclude, from their inability to
do the same, that it is not only inaccessible to them, but can be reached by those
only who have some gift of inspiration." When, however, it can be shown that,
by the use of simple instruments, such as the Chalk or Pencil, all persons may
attain the great essentials in Art,— correct and striking delineation of Form
and Character,— they deservedly claim more consideration before being hastily
rejected.

From the very commencement, truths are to be learned, and their relative
values ascertained. All such as relate to the form of objects, their character,
arrangement, mutual influence, and their light and shadow, may be learned by the
use of the Chalk or Pencil ; and, when the mind is familiar with the truth in
these respects, and when practice has enabled us to display it with facility and
effect, we arc then in a condition to advantageously avail ourselves of the more
powerful means of Colour,— but not till then. What are the natural steps which
conduct to it ? At first in possession of but few ideas, a simple instrument is all
we can require to express them ; they increase in number and in force, and
exceed our power to depict them satisfactorily with our previous simple means.
We are then naturally led to adopt such as are more efficient ; perhaps we first
take up one colour, such as sepia, and, when this in its turn is found too feeble
and limited, we then take up various colours; being prompted by a desire to
express ideas only within their especial province, and to find in their more
extended capabilities, ample means for the display of our more extended know-
ledge and feeling in all their force. Any other course, which presents us with
means, far in advance of our knowledge or necessities, must be fallacious. There
must always be a relation between our ideas and the means we employ to express
them. Comprehensive means do not bring comprehensive ideas ; but comprehen-
sive ideas will always suggest the search for the means most capable of expressing
them: indeed, they give increased capacity to the most feeble. Hence, then,
Colours, the most comprehensive of all the means of Art, if sought at first, lead
to inextricable difficulties, and have the effect of discouraging natural aptitude, by
presenting to it obstacles which appear insurmountable.

12

INTRODUCTION.

The principles which I have endeavoured to explain in the following pages,
are such as have guided my own judgment and practice; and, should they be
proved to be erroneous, I shall at least suffer as much as those whom I propose
to assist. If, on the contrary, they be founded on Nature, the only true basis of
Art, and be proved to be essential, they should be as valuable in time to come as
they now are. If they will stand this test, they are unquestionably entitled to be
received, and ought not to be rejected, however they may vary from previously
entertained and widely circulated opinions.

The contents of these pages 1 hope may tend to correct the erroneous views
of Art too generally entertained ; exemplify the value of ^ell-founded principles;
and render useful service both to those who teach, and to those who are learning,
the Elements of Pictorial Art.

[ Plate I

CHAPTER I

GENERAL REMARKS ON THE USE OF THE CHALK, OR THE LEAD PENCIL.

TO insure success in the use of instruments of any kind, it is necessary that
their nature, qualities, and adaptation for the purposes to which they are to

be applied, should be perfectly understood. The instruments here treated
of are, the Chalk, or Lead Pencil ; and the end to be accomplished by
their use, an imitation of Nature. I shall first endeavour to explain their
properties, how far they are adapted to attain the object proposed by their
application, and what circumstances in nature, many or few, lie within their
capacity to imitate.

It is, or ought to be, the object of all Art to produce as near a likeness
to Nature, in every respect, as the instrument, or material employed, will admit
of; not so much by a laboiious copy addressed to the eye only, as by reviving in
the mind those ideas which are awakened by a contemplation of Nature. In
proportion to the vividness with which the pleasing features of Nature, under
every circumstance and variety, of form, light, and shade, and colour, are revived
and aided by the pictorial influences of Art, will be the merit of the picture. The
renewal of the feelings originally excited by, or associated with, such features,
constitutes the true purpose of Art; while the exhibition of the mechanical
processes, or the operations of the instrument by which this is effected, should,
as in the sister arts, be kept, as much as possible, out of sight : and since all
materials and instruments are, more or less, adapted to this purpose, it is
obviously important that we should study in what degree each is likely to
succeed in accomplishing this important end.*

* See " Principles and Practice of Art," Chap. II. " On Imitation."

14 ON THE USE OF THE CHALK, OR THE LEAD PENCIL.

As the Chalk and the Pencil are simple instruments, they are, consequently,
more fitted for expressing the first and simplest ideas of Art. But as all their
operations are earned on by lines, it is evident, that though in tracing the
great variety of forms, or in giving the characters of objects, they are very effec-
tive; yet, as distinct lines are not often found in Nature, either on the contour,
or on the surfaces, of objects, they are, for these reasons, not always adapted
for exactly imitating her. Were not their operations, indeed, carried on with
judgment, advantage taken of their occasional fitness, and their general unfitness
either concealed or avoided, nothing really satisfactory could ever he gained from
their use. All imitations to be obtained by them are, first, with a line for the
form, and with multiplied lines for the shades ; and these lines should be
so distributed and arranged, that the eye may be as little as possible offended
by their obtrusion ; and their distinctness, as mere lines, should be either totally
or partially got rid of, as the case may demand, H The more unpretending,
quiet, and retiring the means, the more impressive their effect Any attempt
to render lines attractive, at the expense of their meaning, is a vice/' * Refer to
Plates 2 and 3. In these we may see, that in the hair of the heads lines are
not only useful but indispensable, and also in the drapery, where they assist in
explaining its varied surface. On the other hand, for the flesh of the faces, and
for the backgrounds of sky and trees, it is equally imperative there should be, as
in these Plates, either no appearance of lines whatever, or that, as in the upper
example of Plate 1, they should be so much subdued as to be unobtrusive.
Though the absence of lines serves, in some cases, to give this character of
smoothness ; yet then- presence is, in others, desirable, to indicate the rotundity,
or sinuosity, of any surface, — such as of draperies. The distinctness of lines must
be regulated, of course, by the character of the imitation in the other parts.
Notwithstanding lines are, for the most part, contrary to Nature, these Examples
may serve to show that they have power in conveying certain ideas ; for generally,
according to their direction, on surfaces, such as drapery, where it is evident
they may be the least positively like Nature, our notions of the form or
direction of those surfaces, are from them in a great measure received and
confirmed.

ct Modem Painters,' 1 by a Graduate of Oxford.

ON THE USE OF THE CHALK, OR THE LEAD PENCIL.

15

Let us take, as an example, the Roof of a House covered with tiles, and
proceed to shade it, or exhibit its surface, by merely placing lines upon it,
as in Ex. A., without reference to its slope or direction. It will be seen that the
perpendicular lines suggest the idea of its being upright, in complete contradiction

to the outline, which shows it to be oblique. Though more is done in Ex. B. by
making the lines oblique, having the same inclination as the ends of the roof,
yet as the nature of the covering is still not expressed, consequently some
other arrangement must be adopted, which shall at the same time effect both.
As tiles lie in horizontal lines, by such they will best be represented ; and so, by
terminating them in oblique rows, parallel to the ends of the roof, the double
purpose will be gained, as in Ex. C. For the perpendicular wall in each
Example, perpendicular lines are employed, and are left visible — although in them-
selves unlike Nature — because they convey an impression of truth by showing the
wall to be upright.

Again, in the drawing of the Hand, Plate 1, where every part is more or less
round, lines placed parallel to the outline, as in the lower example, do not
give that roundness effectively ; even thougli the proper degree of intensity in the
the shadow be observed, the means obtrude : whereas, when carried in the
direction of the surface, as in the upper example, its precise undulation is readily
explained ; but here the means do not obtrude. Again, it must be observed, that
as no lines in this instance, and others of a like kind, are to be found in Nature,
the lines used are crossed in many directions, to neutralize their unavoidable
dissimilarity in this respect, always leaving those most wanted to express the
surface the most distinct; and, as in both these cases of the Roof and the Hand,
the impression of Nature is more truly obtained, we become, in consequence,

16 OX THE USE OF THE CHALK, OR THE LEAD PENCIL,

affected only with the primary ideas sought to be conveyed, and are not annoyed
with the means, which, considered abstractedly, are in all equally unlike Nature.
These examples, though simple (for it must not be forgotten, that beginners are
here meant to be addressed), will be sufficient to show to those who think on Art
for the first time, that whenever a work of Art affords pleasure, it is because it is
founded on some facts and principles in Nature, and not on means fortuitously or
arbitrarily applied ; for though chance should once succeed, yet, unless the reason
of its success be discovered, the same success cannot again be insured.

In this way we first study Nature, and on the principles deduced from what
we observe in her, we found such application of the means at our disposal, as may
imitate her effectively. This ingenuity of the Artist, excited by and based on his
knowledge, is commonly attributed to innate Genius, instead of being ascribed, as
it ought, to an acquired habit of close observation and just comparison*

The Student should, from the beginning, be encouraged in this way to take a
philosophical view of Art, to reason on it well, that he may be able to practise it
with effect ; to depend on the knowledge of principles, and not absurdly to rely
u on some especial gift in themselves, some specific quality in the materials, or
some false aptitude in their use, requiring no exertion of the mind to produce
it, and making no appeal to the mind when done/' u It is not the eye, it is the
mind," says Sir Joshua Reynolds, " which the painter of genius desires to
impress ; nor will he waste a moment on smaller objects, which only catch the
sense to divide the attention and counteract the great design of speaking to the
heart." Were such consistent and enlarged views of Art more generally enter-
tained among Amateurs, many would be added to the few whom we may be
justly proud of possessing.

CHAPTER II.

ON FORM.

PERHAPS there is no branch of Art so important as correct Drawing. It is
the sure foundation of every excellence, short of colour ; and yet there is no
branch so very much neglected, not only by those who merely take up Art as an
amusement, but also by those studying for the future exercise of the Profession.
All are too eager to use the brush, believing that colour and effect, in light-and-
shade, comprise all that is necessary to be known; not considering that these
alone, however good they may be, cannot afford satisfaction to the mind, if
the Form of an object be incorrect. Incorrect Drawing is an offence to the
eye, for which no excellence in other respects can compensate.

Our first impressions with reference to Art, are derived from the forms of
objects; it is by their shapes that we distinguish them from each other, and
not by their light-and-shade, or colour : for, deprived of these, we can distinguish
them, were we to grasp them in the dark, or blindfolded. Neither colour, nor
light-and-shade, has any influence over their forms ; objects might change their
colours, and yet retain their shape in all its integrity.

For the purpose of drawing Forms simply, without regard to their peculiar
or proper colours, the Chalk or Pencil is especially adapted. The know-
ledge of Forms is so very important, and the power to draw them well, is a
qualification so indispensable to the Amateur, as well as to the Artist, that
I think I may assert without fear of contradiction, that it would be impossible
for any one, not possessing such knowledge and power, to attain any degree of
excellence in Art, or to produce any work of great merit when viewed as a whole.
Correct drawing, or delineation of Form, is the only sure foundation for Art ; and
with its unaided power many works have stood the test of ages, and excited the
admiration of every generation, and every individual who has seen them. Witness

18

ON FORM.

the wonderful and almost magic statues of the ancient Sculptors, which yet look
as if they came breathing from the hands of a Praxiteles, a Phidias, or a Michael
Angelo. Form is the Sculptor's only sphere of effect ; and yet what beauties he
displays ! To him colour is valueless ; the beauty of his outline not only com-
pensates amply for its absence, but so little is the want of it felt, that there are
few, with the smallest portion of good taste, whose feelings would not be outraged
by its presence; and there are equally few who would not prefer the beauty

T

of well-proportioned and finely-formed features, to deformity bedecked in the
richest colours.

Form is the grand essential — the " prima materia" of Art ; and over this the
Artist can obtain entire control. In this he may be perfect, and obtain a mastery
even over Nature : for, by combining in a whole the separate perfections selected
from a great number of individuals, he may produce a more perfect form than she
bestows on any one ; whilst in Light-and-Shade, and Colour, he must ever feel his
inferiority. There lives no man, nor perhaps has there ever lived one, so perfect
in form as the Apollo Belvidere ; though from among the varied instances in
Nature the parts have been collected which, in this sublime statue, are united
into one perfect and transcendent whole.

Among the other productions of Nature, there is a degree of perfection
prevalent in the forms of each kind respectively ; and he who is best acquainted
with the greater beauties of the human form, her most perfect work, will be more
sensible of this fact, and will have an eye more keenly alive to observe all her
other beauties, under all the properties and relations of form, quantity, symmetry,
proportion, and variety. He becomes more ingenious in discovering the pictorial
merits of every work of Man, and more skilful in directing the hand to aid the
beauties, or correct the deformities, which he may find in the works of Nature,

Though much gratification is not generally expected from the study of Form,
yet much more may be received from it than is commonly imagined. Form has
a decided influence on all minds ; and to various forms belong various sensations
and associations : the Venus, or the Hercules — the Greek Temple, or the Gothic
Cathedral — the Tree, full grown, or the Sapling — the sturdy Oak, or the pliant
Birch,— each affects the mind with a different feeling ; and if this be perceptible in
the broad differences marking one from the other, it is no less so in the more
minute varieties incidental to each object of the same kind. This, then, constitutes

Plate 2

Plate 3

' P 1, NS ^ RO 5 O

ON FORM.

19

the necessity of being acquainted not only with Form generally, but for dis-
tinguishing the greatest beauty of which each object is susceptible ; its beauty, of
course, being in proportion to its capacity to raise in the mind all those feelings
naturally connected with it. This is the beau ideal of Form.

Infancy and Maturity affect us differently, and all examples of either unequally.
In order, then, that each may be influential in the greatest degree possible, from
many examples in each must be selected the most beautiful parts, which being
skilfully combined, will enable us to awaken most powerfully those sensations
individually and separately belonging to and associated with the different ages.

But it is not circumstance of age alone, or the mere beauty peculiar
to it, which affects us. Judging always of the merit of Art by its effect
upon us, and by our dispositions, as well as by our knowledge, we cannot
fail to admire most whatever we find most, accordant with our own particular
feelings. This may be made quite evident by Plates 2 and 3 ; it would be
less easy to prefer one to the other, according to our judgment, than it would
be to prefer, according to our feelings, either the serious or the mirthful, — either
the individual who appears to have been influenced by aristocratic associations, or
the more simple child of Nature; and both may fascinate and excite pleasing
emotions in the same mind, according as it is at one moment disposed to be grave,
or at another gay.

By observation and comparison, the patient investigator of Nature discovers
beauties lying scattered and veiled amidst her blemishes ; beauties which are
assembled and concentrated in the works of those whose abundant excellencies
make them worthy of imitation and study ; helping the eye to become sensible of
those accidental defects in Nature everywhere mixed up with her beauties, com-
pleting the knowledge whereby the former is separated from the latter, and
accomplishing a form " more perfect than any one original." At the same time
that the exact form of all objects are learned, a desire is induced to express that
knowledge correctly and tastefully, and the surest foundation is laid for that
good taste and refinement, so necessary to direct the impulses of true genius.

Some appropriate means by which the Student may acquire the ability
to represent objects in all their differences of form and characteristics, constitute
the elementary steps in Art ; and are here presented to him, coupled with
an exposition of the laws common to them all. The end which he is to look

20

ON FORM,

forward to is that nice perception of the superiority of one form of an object over
another in point of beauty ; and, more especially, when the distinction is so
delicate as to be felt, rather than seen.*

To a correct Outline, all the beauties of expression and character may
be superadded to a degree so powerful, as, in their combination, to leave little
more to be desired for mental gratification.

If the power to exhibit the refinement of beauty in any one object,
other than the human form, were the Artist's only object, it would not be
worth toiling for ; but it must be remembered, that his perception of the
true and the beautiful in one thing, is a great step towards his perception
of them in every other ; and having become alive to beauty, and sensible
of its influence, refinement and grace, in proportion, pervade his works: they
then not only present a true delineation of objects, but a faithful expression
of all the accessory beauties of which they are susceptible.

A thorough knowledge of the Human Form is required to enable us to clothe
it well and consistently, since it never is, or never should be, so enveloped in
Drapery, as entirely to hide its proportions ; and again, in Animals, where their
hairy covering will not admit of being represented by continuous lines, such as are
used in depicting other objects, the lines, or strokes, besides distinguishing the
nature of that covering, should be so arranged as perfectly to suggest the
true Form underneath (See F, in Plate 4). This Example also serves to cor-
roborate w r hat is said in pages 14 and 15,

To become acquainted with the forms of objects under every variety of
action, position, and place, and to acquire the power to draw them well, without
fear and without failure, it is necessary to draw them repeatedly. This
power is best attained with an instrument like the Chalk, or Pencil, the
operations of which, if incorrect, can be easily and repeatedly effaced, and
with equal readiness renewed. In its firmness, the yet trembling, because unskil-
ful, hand finds a rest or stay, till, assured by practice, and guided by knowledge,
it gradually becomes independent of support, and is enabled to trace forms cor-
rectly, rapidly, and boldly. Then, with the certain prospect of success, the Chalk,
or Pencil, may be laid aside for the Brush, the operations of which require great

* See " Principles and Practice of Art," Chap. IV., On Beauty of Form.

ON FORM

2\

dexterity and rapidity, particularly in Water-Colours, where the difference
between all that is good or all that is intolerable (I speak only of the mechanism)
depends on using it without that hesitation which at first is generally felt when
using a Brush, whose operations are known to be indelible, or nearly so. For
though various devices may be had recourse to for removing faults and failings, it
is not easy to hide them when they have been once committed ; and if devices be
used in one part, they are almost rendered necessary throughout the Drawing, so
that mistakes may not be more obvious in one part than in another, and also that
their detection may thus be made difficult. How vastly superior in many essential
and valuable qualities of Art are the works of those whose skill and decision mark
a perfect acquaintance with, and mastery over their subject, compared with the
timid and uncertain productions of others, who, notwithstanding their patient toil
and unwearied labour in correcting, or rather in overlaying their failures, can
hardly coax a spiritless and unmeaning picture into being ! *

In Drawing forms readily and accurately, the eye requires as much practice
to see truly, as the hand to execute : those nice shades of difference, which
distinguish one thing from another, of a like kind, or one position of it from
another, are neither seen, nor depicted, intuitively. .Even the simplest forms assume
complicated shapes where they are viewed in the direction of their planes; and
although it may be very easy to perceive that a circle is a circle, when the eye is
immediately over its centre, it is not equally easy to depict the degree of its
approximation towards an oval, in proportion as the eye is removed from the
centre, and as the visual ray becomes parallel with its plane. If we take

any simple and single figure, which must always be made up of
at least two lines, such as a leaf of any kind; so long as the
visual ray is at right angles to its surface we distinctly see its
form, and it is comparatively easy to adapt the lines to each other, so as to
represent it truly; but if the object be seen obliquely, that is, if the visual

* " We have little doubt that almost all such failures arise from the Artist's neglecting the use of
the Chalk ; and supposing that either the power of drawing Forms, or the sense of Beauty, can be main-
tained un weakened or un blunted, without constant and laborious studies in simple Light and Shade, of
Form only. The Brush is at once the Artist's greatest aid and enemy ; it enables him to make his power
available, but at the same time it undermines his power ; and unless it be constantly rejected for the
Pencil, never can be rightly used. 1 ' — " Modern Painters," by a Graduate of Oxford, page 236,
second Edition.

22

ON FORM.

ray be not at a right angle with the surface, but inclining towards its plane,
then we no longer see the true figure, and have to represent it by two lines,
both of which vary considerably from the true form, and yet adequately suggest
it to the mind.

We may take a cube, each side of which is a square, and can be readily
represented by four straight lines of equal length, and at right angles with

each other : when viewing this body, it may be so placed that
the visual ray may be more or less in the direction of the three
sides which may be seen at the same time; it then would
assume the form here given, where each side is represented by
a form quite different from a square, and each angle, instead of
being a right angle, as it is in Nature, is here either acute or
obtuse. Although the lines describing it vary from the actual truth, they still
convey to the mind a correct idea of the actual figure.

Now, if this be the case with a figure so comparatively simple as a cube, and
if to represent it truly requires a practised eye and hand, much more knowledge
and skill must be required to represent the human form, or any portion of it,
in all its various aspects, when seen from different points of view and in different
positions ; to adapt and adjust the ovoid curves of which it consists, and that so
truly as to present a complete embodiment of a perfect form, though every line
be at variance with the form as it actually exists in Nature.

An egg, viewed with its longer axis perpendicular to the visual ray, takes the
form by which we generally recognise it ; if viewed from either end, directly in a
line with its longer axis, it is then of a circular form ; both these forms may
be easily understood and represented : but when viewed as it lies on a table, and
when its longer axis is not immediately presented to us, its form then differs essen-
tially from those alluded to, hut withal, by such nice shades of difference, as to
require great practice, either to see, or to trace, them truly.

I hope I have said enough to convince the lover of Art how much
is to be gained by the study of Form ; — that he ought to devote his first labours
to correct Drawing, enthusiastically and exclusively, as the best means of attain-
ing the end to which he aspires, rather than vainly to waste his time in seeking,
by application to this or that Master, to be put at once into possession of a power
which has excited his ambition. If he fancies that he can obtain by purchase, a

OX FORM.

23

talent which is only to be acquired by diligent and well-directed study, he will
most certainly be disappointed.

At the commencement, the Student is surrounded by difficulties, which
he should attempt to surmount one by one ; to overcome many, or all, at a time,
would be impossible. When this is expected, or attempted, by commencing
at first, or too early, with Colour, disappointment is inevitable. There can be no
doubt that to this cause may be attributed, in many instances, the want of
success, and in many more the relinquishment of the pursuit altogether :
whereas, by the contrary course, the difficulties unavoidably attending the
practice of Art, gradually yield to his assiduity; while a consciousness of
improvement cheers him in his pursuit, and encourages him to continue
his labours. He may rest assured that, though the practice of the Chalk
or Pencil, may appear dry and unprofitable, he is most certainly taking the
best and surest road, and is laying the foundation for a positive and speedy
mastery over those difficulties which are peculiar to Light-and-Shade, and
Colour ; for unless he have the knowledge and practice of Form, he cannot
give his unfettered energies to the other great branches of Art.

A knowledge of Perspective is a great aid to correct delineation ; but it does
not go beyond this, and does not enable us to convey one particle of sentiment.
The principles of Perspective it would be unnecessary here to lay down,
as so many excellent works on the subject have already been published, and the
required knowledge can be obtained from all or most of them.

CHAPTER III

ON THE APPLICATION OF THE CHALK, OR PENCIL, TO THE DRAWING OF FORMS.

THE three grand divisions of Art, — Form, Light-and-Shade, and Colour, — are
— entirely independent of each other, so that the merits of one cannot
compensate for the defects of any of the others. The form of an object
remains the same from whatever side it may be lighted; nor would a change
of colour effect any change in its shape.

Where so much depends on manual dexterity, it is important to practise in
such a way as shall render the Hand most obedient to the Will ; because, when
sketching from Nature, many objects require to be drawn rapidly, from their

liability to change their position, — such as Figures, Animals, Boats, &c. It is
highly important, under such circumstances, that the forms and relations of
objects should be arrested while their first impressions on the mind— always
the strongest — are yet fresh and vivid.

ON THE APPLICATION OF THE CHALK, OR PENCIL,

25

Ignorance chiefly occasions the hesitation at first felt; and Forms of all
kinds are timidly and inaccurately drawn, either by a series of dots, or by
continuous lines void of character, as in the examples on the opposite page,
or in some other way equally feeble and indeterminate- The same result also
occurs when too much attention has been paid to the means, or when an
effort has been made to throw off fear altogether.

The method most likely to succeed is to first consider the direction of a Line,
and then, having determined its two extremes, to mark both by a dot : whilst
the hand commences from the upper one, the eye should regard the lower, and
thus the mind is best assisted to comprehend what the hand is about to execute*
If the Line be not too long, it should be drawn boldly and lightly, and at once :
and though the first and second attempts, or more, should be unsuccessful, they
ought not to be immediately effaced, as is the ordinary practice ; on the contrary,
if they be lightly drawn, as they ought, and left on the paper, the Student,
by having them before him, will be the better able to judge how far they are
right or wrong, as compared with the object he is drawing from; and be
thus guided in leaving what is right, or in correcting what is wrong.

When any object has been satisfactorily sketched in this manner, the true

Line should be selected from the others*

It should be marked here and there
emphatically ; not left continuous, lonely,
and unbroken, even though made lighter
or darker, by way of giving some idea of the
Light-and-Shade, as in the annexed ex-
ample : because, however well drawn and
executed in such a way, violence is, never-
theless, done to our feelings, by forcing on
our attention the falsehood of a hard boun-

dary Line, in connexion with the truth of
Form, and thus enfeebling its effect on us,
by the mode of presenting it. The better
plan is, rather to suggest the actual Form
by approximating lines, than to define it absolutely by one; because at the same
time that we are by such means made sensible of the true Form, and of the Light-

26

ON THE APPLICATION OF THE CHALK, OR PENCIL.

and-Shade, we gain also some idea of the character of the surface, whether
rotund or concave, such as the boles of trees and the sinuosities of draperies, as
may be seen by the; annexed Examples.

This method is superior to the dry and cold precision of a single line,
and would seem to deserve the preference for the following reason :— there are no
lines in Nature, as has been before remarked ; consequently, in Art none should
be distinctly apparent. By this means, as two or three lines arc given, and are
only here and there emphatically marked ; and as from their sometimes uniting,
and sometimes separating, it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to say
which line had been the first, or which the second, or to trace the course of either
definitely ; and as the true line belongs entirely neither to one nor another, and
sometimes even would be found between two of them, — it must then be an
imaginary one, existing only in the mind: the perfect truth being adequately
suggested by what is done, the attention does not become fixed on the defect
of lines as representatives of Nature.

TO THE DRAWING OF FORMS.

27

Before proceeding farther, it may be as well to observe that, when first
sketching the objects, the Pencil should be held so as to have the point about an
inch and a half, or two inches from the ends of the fingers, and the thumb brought
so low down as to be nearly opposite to them ; and all should be rather bent, as
shown in the upper Example of Plate 1, so that their flexibility may be entirely
at command. When sketching, particularly on a large scale, instead of working
from the joints of the fingers or the wrist, the whole arm should be at liberty
from the shoulder joint, and support should be obtained only from the tip of the
little finger. It is a common habit to hold the Pencil like the Pen— a great fault ;

for the Hand, being thus confined, is able only to make
with facility lines in the direction necessary for writing ;
whereas, in drawing, they are required in every pos-
sible direction, and of every form : it is of the utmost
consequence, therefore, that all the pliability of which
the Hand is capable, should be brought into action.

All inclined lines will be most accurately drawn,
by comparing them with lines forming a right angle,
either by actually drawing the right angle against the
line required, or by supposing it. The former is the
better plan in the first instance* Upon the horizontal line A C, it will be easily
seen how far the point C is from the angle A, and how high up on the perpendi-
cular line the point I) is from
A : the two points decide the
inclination of the "line D C.

Again, in the Gable-end of
the House, in the annexed ex-
ample : — first draw the perpen-
dicular line A B, and the line
D C at right angles with it;
and having ascertained how far
up the line A B, the apex of the
Gable I is to be, and how far
from B, on the line D C, are the ends E and C of the sloping lines of the roof,
which form the Gable, place the two points, E and C, and draw the lines I C

28

ON THE APPLICATION OF THE CHALK, OR PENCIL,

and I E, observing to continue the latter to the point F, below the line D C,
and the true inclination of the roof will be obtained. It will be easily seen
where the point F is to be, by drawing the line F B C forming an acute angle
with D C. Then again, for the perspective line of the roof I H, first draw the
horizontal line I K indefinitely ; and having determined how far on that line, as at
K, as well as how much below K, the point H would come, the direction of the
line H I is gained. This being done, the further corner to the right, nearly in
a line with C at the opposite extremity of the roof, the lower line of the roof
may be determined by the direction of the line D C produced, considering
how far the required point ought to be below this line, and how far it would
extend beyond where the perpendicular line, continued downward from H,
would cross it ; next let fall perpendicular lines from the points F and C, for
the angles of the wall : thus, unaided by any knowledge of Perspective, the
whole is drawn with sufficient accuracy.

Gothic arches, or any other figure composed of
curved lines, may also be accurately drawn, by first
setting up a framework of right lines, such as the per-
pendicular lines a a a a, and the three horizontal lines,
in the annexed example. The original, or model, is
either to be divided, or conceived to be divided, by
straight lines in the same manner and proportion- The
curves may thus be precisely determined by observing
their relation to the straight lines as they approach,
come in contact with, or recede from them. The most
complicated forms, whether curved or angular, may be
accurately, though mechanically, drawn by means of a
frame-work of lines, at right angles with each other,
forming a number of squares* The practice, however,
here recommended is intended only as an aid to the eye in the beginning;
if carried beyond this, the Student would acquire the habit of determining on the
accuracy of his drawing, not by comparing, as he ought, one line with another,
and judging of the adaptation of all by their significancy and power in conveying
a clear and correct idea of the object, regardless of the union of all in a
whole ; he would take part by part, and judge of every line by comparison with

TO THE DRAWING OF FORMS.

29

those artificially employed ; — and thus, instead of deciding on the merits of his
copy by its general significance as compared with the original, he would estimate
it by its correspondence in detail with the means employed to obtain accuracy
mechanically.

The curved lines in the Human Figure may be obtained in a similar manner,
by first drawing straight lines, inclining, according to the intended direction of
the curves, as in the annexed Example, and forming a continued series of angles.
Then, by merely cutting off the
positive angles more or less ab-
ruptly, by lines of greater or
smaller curvature, as may be re-
quired, we thus obtain more per-
fect and delicately varied curves,
than could be obtained by drawing
continuous curved lines at first.

This method of comparing
sloping and curved lines with such
as are perpendicular or horizontal, v *—
is not confined to copying. It is
also of great use in drawing from
material objects, whether natural
or artificial; the Port-crayon, or
Pencil, will serve where comparison
is required with horizontal lines ; and a string with a small weight at one end, and
used as a plumb line, will serve for such parts as require to be compared with a
perpendicular line. By such simple methods the relations of the lines, — whether
straight or curved, or both, — of the most complicated forms, may be accu-
rately compared and estimated, which is the first step towards their being
accurately drawn.

These Examples, well studied, will, it is hoped, be sufficient to show the
intelligent Pupil the necessary application of this method ; experience only can
teach him how far it may be extended. In drawing Forms, it is almost universally
applicable.

At first, it is more than probable that the difference between the merit of two

s )

30

ON THE APPLICATION OF THE CHALK, OR PENCIL,

methods employed in drawing the Examples, given in pages 24 and 26, will not
strike the Student's eye, especially the hard outline of the Hand ; for as it has the
great essential of correct drawing, the meagreness of the single line used is the less
likely to be felt The difference between this and the other and better Examples,
at page 26, is also less likely to be noticed ; because in the latter, the outline, not
being single, is not so manifest as he is at first always prone to make it. The dif-
ferent Outlines are, however, very dissimilar in their effect. In the one, where the
Outline is single and positive, the eye unavoidably follows it ; in the other, where
the Outline is not single nor positive, the eye is unable to detect it without an
effort, and, therefore, rests on the surface, as it does in Nature; and whilst
the Form is perfectly understood, some idea is also obtained of the texture
and roundness of the surface. But when, to the frigidity of a single line, incorrect
drawing is added, its defects, as a representation of the natural boundary of an
object, become more obvious. For reasons, previously alluded to, it is possible
that the Student may discover no great difference between Plates 14 and 15,
or between those and all the others given in this work. Unless his knowledge of
Nature and of the purposes of Art should have corrected his judgment, he
may even find himself joining in the popular error of admiring what is false
and unnatural. Such admiration is the more to be guarded against, since Art
is generally so little understood, that the Learner is in constant danger of being
led away by the indiscriminate praises he hears bestowed on that which only
pity spares from the severest criticism.

In order, then, to avoid this liability of the Student to err, by mistaking
the wrong for the right, which would leave him for ever in ignorance, he
must make the improvement of the Hand depend on the correctness of his
Judgment, and never allow himself to practise with the one, without having
previously exercised the other.

Though it might be admitted that the principles propounded and explained
in this Work are correct, and beyond refutation, yet still objections might be
be raised to the methods of working them out ; and it might be said that the
processes are tedious, and likely to chill the ardour of genius* To this it may be
replied that it is the same with all rules, whether of Science or Art — all are slowly
acquired. Few, however, think that the true principles of language — so irksome to
youth — destroy genius, and mar the future Scholar- All those rules and precepts

TO THE DRAWING OF FORMS.

31

which are at first acquired with so much difficulty and reluctance, at length become
familiar, and are habitually applied in practice without an effort. The Orator
speaks correctly and fluently without reference to the rules of his grammar ; and
the Artist, in like manner, at last draws without thinking of the rules which mecha-
nically guided his early steps, — rules without which neither of them could bring
his genius into full play, or refine and improve his feelings. The Student in
language at first labours over his rules, and finds it difficult to express a simple
idea, because his attention is distracted and divided between the idea and the
language in which it is to be conveyed: but when he has learned his rules thoroughly,
he then, unembarrassed and at ease, bestows his attention on the choice of words ;
applies them with facility in their precise signification ; and at length feels, to the
fullest extent, the force and spirit of the language, and conveys his ideas in it
with proportionate power, taste, and feeling. By the same order of progression
only can the Student in Art be made to learn and feel, and to impart his know-
ledge and feeling to others effectively.

The first sketch having been made, and the required forms, and their relative
sizes, obtained bylines slightly traced, as in Plate 5; those lines should be partially
removed, and the whole should be completed, by giving such character as will best
convey a just idea of the nature of the object as well as of its form. The lines
on the limits of the shadowed sides and parts are to be made darker and more
evident, where they are more evident in Nature ; carefully comparing, moreover,
the different parts with each other, and preserving in each its relative degree
of intensity. The open windows, and the spaces between the piers, on which the
building rests, are marked with darker lines ; and the stones of the piers with wider
or narrower lines, accordingly as their separations would be found in Nature. It
will also be seen, that besides the outline, much is necessary on the surface to
characterise it properly ; — those parts only being depicted which in Nature are
most evidently marked.

All that can ever be effected with buildings, or, indeed, any other objects,
is to convey distinctly an idea of Nature. In a Building, whether it be old
or new, — whether the stones composing it be of regular or irregular shapes, —
when sufficient is pourtrayed to show this, enough is done ; the likeness is not
improved by exhibiting the portraiture of every stone, since the Spectator only
recognises the circumstances above alluded to in connection with the general

32

ON THE APPLICATION OF THE CHALK, OR PENCIL.

form: the number of stones contained in it being as little known to him as
to the Painter, the exact representation of all is not felt as essential to a satis-

factory resemblance.

What is required in individual portraiture is, that the qualities and nature
of the object should be so represented as to recall to the mind of another those
features, circumstances, and ideas, by which it is remembered ; and these are
entirely independent of the number of lines employed.

We should acknowledge no greater degree of likeness in a Portrait, were the
hairs of the head to be numbered, and every part elaborated with a Dutch-like
patience. Much time, which might have been usefully employed in a more com-
prehensive view of Nature, is thus often thrown away on insignificant details.
Gerard Dow and Teniers painted Heads like Nature, and so did Vandyke and
Titian ; but what a different effect is produced by each on the mind ! In Land-
scape, Titian and Hobbima each adopted a manner varying from the other, and
yet each was true to Nature. By the one, our ideas of Nature are exalted and
improved, because he has selected her most striking and most imposing features,
— her rarest combinations, — and has intellectually set them before us in works
which engross our minds and feelings by a sense of what is impressive and
beautiful. Not so by the other ; he has taken Nature as he found her — in her
e very-day dress, — and has given us little more than the most unimaginative
observer might see. By the one we learn to feel and to appreciate the sublime
and the beautiful ; in the works of the other, we see that a laborious and
mechanical effort has been made to obtain an exact copy of Nature, without
regard to selection — without arrangement, sentiment, or beauty- Persons who
are unacquainted with Art admire the works of Hobbima, because they are
painted on a level with their capacities ; but the works of Titian, from being of
a higher order, require that the mind of the Spectator should be cultivated before
it can perceive the fulness of their merits, and justly appreciate the talent of
the Artist.

I have thought it advisable, nay indispensable, to urge, as I have done, the
study of Form, not only as the best possible beginning of Art, whether for
Amateur or Artist, but because it is so immediately connected with my particular
subject, — The Use of the Chalk, or Lead Pencil,

CHAPTER IV

ON COPYING, AS PREPARATORY TO THE STUDY OF NATURE.
"The mechanical practice of Art is learned by Copying." — Sir J. Reynolds.

TO draw from Nature well, and to be able to select her most beautiful features,
should be the ultimate aim of all who study Art ; and Art should be studied
so as to obtain not only the most complete power over the means and appliances
wherewith Nature may be imitated, but also a knowledge of what is within the
proper province of Art to imitate. To attain the mechanical power, Copying
of Examples is indispensable, — but not with a view of merely producing a fac-
simile of any. A just idea of the subject intended to be worked out ought
to be first acquired, and then the examples should be looked to for the
mode of execution, bearing in mind the reasons for its adoption. When the
copy is completed, comparison should be made with the original; not to
determine the exactness of the resemblance between that and the copy, as
regards the mere lines and strokes, but to see if the ideas intended to be
conveyed are expressed with the same significance and power in the copy as
in the original.

Copying necessarily implies a certain amount of imitation, and a general
adherence to the style, or mode of execution, of the original ; but lest this
should degenerate into mere servile imitation, without anything like exercise
of the mind, the Student, after having satisfied himself with the correctness
of his copy, should then lay aside the original, and endeavour to re-produce
the same subjects, with the same results, from memory. This, though at first

34

OX COPYING.

difficult, is nevertheless a most important practice, as it is the first step towards
originality, and towards that independence which all must possess, who, ere they
can draw well from Nature, or do anything at all, and do it well, must depend
on, and act for, themselves.

The Student must start with the intention of Drawing from Memory ; and
when he is able to make an accurate, and an intellectual copy, he should
commence the practice. He should begin by taking single objects, or the separate
parts of such as are complicated, and having drawn them twice or thrice, should
note to what extent his memory has been faithful. It is with Drawing as with
Music : the first step towards playing a passage correctly is made when it has
been played a sufficient number of times to fix it on the memory.

This practice of Drawing from Memory cannot be too much insisted on, as it
best shows to what extent Copying is necessary ; since some require the practice
more, and others less, according to the degree of facility with which ideas are
acquired and retained. The great art of teaching ourselves or others is to adopt
such means as shall make our own errors and the merits of our Example most
sensibly felt. No measures can be taken to correct errors that are neither seen
nor felt; and nothing can lead the Student so surely to detect them as the com-
parison which he makes between his own productions from memory and the

original before him.

Drawing from Memory is moreover calculated to fix not only precise ideas
of objects in the mind, but also the process of embodying them. By this practice
the Student learns to detect with more precision what his deficiency consists
in, and is by degrees induced to rely more on himself and less on his model.
By thus early practising from memory, he lays the foundation for his future
independence, when, emancipated from the trammels of imitation, he can turn to
Nature for himself. But before he can do this, he must, by studying from good
models, have his mind enlightened, know what there is in Nature, and be
prepared to look for and enabled to perceive her beauties.

Many believe that they cannot too soon study from Nature, as affording
the best models. It is, indeed, true that she does ; but of what utility are they to
those who know little or nothing of their positive or relative merits ; to whom the
good, the indifferent, or the bad — for Nature has her deformities as well as her
beauties — are all equally pleasing or unimpressive ?

ON COPYING.

35

It is erroneous to suppose that we should go to Nature before we have
acquired some knowledge, and cultivated and improved our taste, in some degree,
by studying the works of those who have shown what is to be obtained there.
The knowledge and experience of others ought to be the foundation on which
we are to build, and on which we may expect to raise a superstructure of our
own ; otherwise there could be no progression in Art. Until we have learned the
principles of Art, and can carry them into operation, we are not in a condition to
study Nature with advantage, or to depict her so satisfactorily that we may be
encouraged to go on.

That Student can hardly fail to draw well from Nature who, whilst copying
the works of others, learns the principles of Nature therein displayed, and how
they may be exhibited by means of Art; and he must first satisfy himself that
lie has acquired this preliminary knowledge and skill, before he practises
from her.

When many objects in juxta-position, and of all forms, simple and com-
plicated, at different distances, are to be drawn — and when, besides the true
form of each, its relative size and peculiar characteristics must be known to
be represented, — it is evident that to achieve this is an accomplishment which
requires preparatory education, both in the knowledge of the objects themselves,
and the capabilities of the instrument or instruments with which they are to
be represented.

All are greatly embarrassed, and inevitably so, in their early efforts to draw
from Nature ; nor is this surprising, when we consider that the matchless original
which they desire to imitate — complete, substantial, real — appears at once before
them- When they find the apparently inappropriate materials from which her
likeness is to spring, presenting, in their hands, every opposition to their task,
it is no wonder they soon deem it hopeless. The work must of necessity have its
various stages ; and little similitude can be seen until it approaches completion,
although each step may bring it nearer. The imitation in its early stages is so
dissimilar to Nature, that ultimate success seems impossible, even where the
course most likely to insure it has been adopted. The Student must first carry
into operation the materials of his Art by copying works of Art — be familiar with
the likeness to Nature, in kind and degree, produced by the different stages of his
work — be able to anticipate the result of each, from the beginning to the con-

ON COPYING

elusion, — before he can see his way clearly in drawing from Nature, or fix on a
method of using the materials with such skill as to attain the desired object. But
if he have studied good examples, and not merely imitated them, and tried the
information he may have gained from them by what his memory retains, he will
then look for no more likeness in the first stage of his Drawing, than should at
first be expected ; he will plainly see in what respects that which he is doing
resembles Nature, or in what it is deficient : he will be in no danger of obliterating
what he has done well, nor of neglecting to obliterate what he has done badly ;
and in this way, from the commencement of his work to its termination, he will
be able to form a right judgment of its different conditions, and exercise that
judgment without fear.

The memory, as before observed, must, from the first, be exercised on simple
objects or parts of such as are complicated, gradually learning to attach them to
each other and to form a whole. Drawing from Memory is, indeed, at first
attended with difficulties; but these difficulties vanish, like all others, before
practice, and the memory at length retains the impression of an entire subject
with as much ease as it does any part of it. This exercise of the memory, in
studying Landscape, is the more important, as it is constantly necessary to refer
to it. Nature's effects are fleeting and incessantly changing ; she is clad in her
loveliest attire but for a short season, and her radiant autumn dress almost dis-
appears as she puts it on. The Sun speeds with regular progression along his
course ; when rising he prepares to set, and while setting, sinks. It is not always
practicable to delineate the charms of Nature at the moment we observe them ;
a variety of insurmountable obstacles frequently present themselves ; and the
Artist is compelled to gather much from the resources which his recollection
and his knowledge supply. This constitutes the great difficulty of Landscape
Painting.

To copy well is the beginning and the end of many an Amateur's hopes and
expectations. To draw without an example appears so unattainable, that few aim
at it, and fewer still expect to succeed ; yet the ordinary ambition of most to
draw from Nature is to draw originally ; and for this purpose they should be early
exercised in drawing from recollection.

When much time has been devoted to Copying, and so much gained by it
that a good copy can be made at hist without the trouble of constantly reverting

ON COPYING.

37

to either the principles of Nature or of Art, or of practising their development, it
then becomes more difficult to draw from Nature; and the Student is mortified
to find how defective his own direct imitation of her is, as compared with his
Copies of works of Art where the hand, without knowledge, has succeeded in
gaining a kind of resemblance of her by a second-hand mimicry- The powerful
conviction of this difference often represses all the hope of ultimate success in
depicting Nature ; and, disappointed and annoyed, the Student returns again to
his former pursuit, unable to summon courage for the task he sees before him,
precisely because his too great devotion to Copying, without study, has increased
the difficulty of relying on himself, which he must do when he goes to Nature :
his difficulties have been thus aggravated in a ten-fold degree by the very practice
which, properly followed, should have tended to diminish, if not to remove them
altogether. His ability to copy with ease and tolerable accuracy has led him to
believe himself to be in possession of more talent than he really has ; and he
does not discover how greatly he has over-estimated his powers, till Nature puts
them to the test.

As it is more easy to follow what another has done than to create for them-
selves, Students, both professional and amateur, are apt to devote themselves so
entirely to copying, as to find it difficult to rid themselves of the trammels in which
they have thus become involved. Instead of copying, to this degree, Drawing
from Memory should be frequently practised. This gradually brings the Student
within sight of that object which formerly appeared so distant, namely, the ability
to produce an original Drawing; and his ardour increases with his increasing
power. He finds himself following his own thoughts, his own way ; and thus he
loosens his fetters, and finally disengages himself from them altogether, and takes
less and less pleasure in Copying, because he can act for himself. His power both
to combine, and to create, increases ; and, last of all, he looks only for hints from
others to assist him in the delineation of any given subject from Nature, finding
himself possessed of the power which he had so long envied and emulated in others.

This is precisely such exercise as belongs to other branches of knowledge.
We first learn the ideas of others by reading ; when those ideas are perfectly
understood and well impressed on the memory, we express them in our own way,
always adhering to the principles of the language used, until both the ideas and
the language conveying them become equally original.

38

ON COPYING

Were language itself invested with the imaginary difficulties which, to the
uninstructed, appear to encompass Art, how many would be able even to write a
letter ? What is this but an original production, resulting from a knowledge of
language and the principles of composition ?

Though some Examples of characteristic outline are given in this Work, it is
not pretended to give all that may be useful or necessary, either for this or any
other subject, in the various stages of the Student's progress. He must look for
them elsewhere, — and here only for a guide to their use. He will most probably
find what he needs either in my Lithographic Examples, already before the public,
or, perhaps, in his Tutor's portfolio.

Before the eye can become accurate, or the hand firm, some mechanical con-
trivance is requisite, particularly in the outset, to aid the learner in determining
the relative situation of the parts, and the direction of the principal lines. It is a
good method, and perhaps one of the best, to draw diagonal lines, from opposite
corners, across the model, and the like on the paper on which the copy is to be
made. By this the Student will discover that object, or the part of it, the nearest

to the centre of the subject, from which he should commence, gradually attaching
the other objects on all sides, until the subject fills the paper to its limits. The
diagonal lines will assist very much in showing the relative heights and sizes of
the objects. By such contrivances, the necessity for much erasing is avoided,— a
thing often found disheartening to beginners. It is a common practice, however,
to begin at one corner of the subject, and work to the one opposite ; and the
inevitable consequence is, that when nearly all has been drawn in, it is found that
the parts, both individually and collectively, are either too large or too small,
and that all must be erased. The same disasters result from beginning at various

ON COPYING

39

parts ; it is found equally difficult to determine separately the size of each, both
with relation to each other, and to the given limits of the whole subject; but by
adopting the means above recommended, the Student, from the first, will obtain
some distinct idea of the approaches he is making towards correctness. When
practice has rendered these and similar contrivances no longer necessary, it
is desirable that Copies should be made smaller or larger than the Original,
to exercise the Student in judging of the proportions of objects, and to enable him
so to adjust them to each other as to explain their relative magnitude. Without
this power to explain objects in their proper and relative proportions, he could do
little when drawing from Nature ; and every lesson he learns should tend, directly
or indirectly, to that all-important object. He should make it his business to learn
from Copies those principles, which will enable him justly and fully to appreciate
her varied beauties, and that practice in the use of the materials of Art, which
will enable him to depict them correctly and vividly.

CHAPTER V.

ON FOLIAGE.

■"FOLIAGE is a feature in Landscape so very striking, that we can scarcely
J- say we possess Landscape without it ; and those who intend to follow

■

that department of Art, must look on the study of Foliage as of the first
importance.

Owing to the difficulties apparently belonging to the truthful imitation
of Foliage, very many are deterred from attempting it at all; and hitherto,
though the Public have had many examples of Trees placed before them, no
practical system of studying them has ever yet, as far as I am aware, been
presented or explained. Yet this is the more demanded, because Trees, except
in their Stems and leading Branches, do not stand before the spectator as objects
so completely definable as most others, nor so much within the reach of the
materials of Art : their peculiar qualities only can be attempted, — their height,
their flexibility, their roundness, &c. ; they cannot, in their forms, be copied with
rigid accuracy : and for these reasons, the skill acquired in the practice of
drawing other objects does not apply to them. Hence arises the necessity for
studying, in regard to them, another application of the means of Art to their
representation.

When the importance of Trees in Landscape is considered — how their
infinitely varied and graceful forms, separate and combined, and their colours, con-
tribute to augment, or, by contrast, to set off, other combinations— how all that
is lovely in the face of Nature, or grateful in her brighter seasons, is associated
with Foliage— and how much command the Artist has over it in every com-
position of Landscape, in the arrangement of Trees collectively, and over
their forms individually— how much range they afford his fancy,— it will readily
be admitted that they demand his best and most strenuous efforts, to obtain the

ON FOLIAGE.

41

mastery over what may be truly called the best and most tractable auxiliary of
the Landscape Painter.*

Perhaps, to the difficulty of obtaining excellence in Foliage by such an
imitation as readily conveys to the mind the likeness of other objects, and to its
appearing to be so little within the reach of those rules which guide us in the
accomplishment of other things, may be ascribed the commonly received notion,
that to depict Trees well, depends more on the Artist's genius than on any rules
which could be laid down ; the more so, because the lines from the Chalk, or
Pencil, seem less appropriate to the delineation of Foliage than to most other
things ; whereas, when well employed upon the perfect knowledge of it, they
afford the most favourable means of giving the forms, the details, and the
general characteristics of Trees, with great truth and freedom.

In this work the Student will not find Examples of all the rich variety of
Trees adorning the Park or Forest, and of all that are available in landscape
composition. This would be unnecessary ; he is never called upon to substitute
botanical delineation for pictorial effect. In drawing from Nature he is usually
too far removed from Trees, even the nearest, to be aware of any delicate
minutiae; he can only trace the more obvious and broader distinctions, such as

if *

exist between the Beech and the Elm, or the Elm and the Oak, &c. It is not
his purpose to distinguish between Trees that are much like each other;
he is not a painter of leaves in detail ; but deals with the masses, the common
forms, and their great distinguishing features : and would but waste his time
in prosecuting a study more within the province of the Botanist or the Gardener,
than the Painter*

The remarks that have been previously made on " The Use of the Chalk, or
Pencil/* are peculiarly applicable to their employment in the delineation of Foliage
and Herbage,

When setting out, the attention of all Students is more or less directed to
the operations of the instrument in their hands : they watch the lines made by

* In striking out a new track, all are apt to cling too tenaciously to ideas originating with them-
selves; and if my Header should think that T have fallen into this error, and, in the yet untrodden patli
here pointed out, have advanced new views which may not appear to him to be always well founded* I
invite him to carry these considerations to Nature, and test their correctness or incorrectness there ; and
to accept or reject them, according as they shall be found to be consistent with, or contradicted by, her.

42

ON FOLIAGE.

the Chalk, or Pencil, instead of the effect produced by them, as if the imitation of
Nature existed in them abstractedly. Hence some persons labour with the utmost
patience to copy exactly, choosing a Line Engraving as the most captivating model ;
imitating every line in it — striving to produce softness and smoothness ; conclud-
ing that in so doing they are making a highly-finished drawing (such as Plate 15) :
while others, not disposed to such labour, endeavour to effect their object with
broader strokes (such as in Plate 14), and apologise for their want of patience, by
giving the preference to what they denominate a bold sketch. Still all are looking
to the means, and call a drawing " slight," or " highly-finished," according to the
quantity of labour bestowed, — the number of lines serving as the index. This is
very erroneous ; for the labour, little or much, may have been mis-applied, as both
the Examples referred to clearly testify.

In neither of them is there the least evidence of thought ; the one displays
rashness, the other inanity. At first sight, one of them may please by a semblance
of power ; but it is a power of the fingers, not of the mind ; it is dexterity without
truth or judgment ; it is power mis-applied. The other lias not even this low
recommendation ; the only idea that it forcibly impresses on the mind is that of
time wasted. As a production of Art it is purposeless, idealess, and powerless.
There is neither distinct form nor character in any one object it contains. The
only utility of such examples consists in their exhibition of a collection of errors
and deformities to be avoided. In neither can we avoid noticing the means
employed, which are the more peculiarly obtrusive, because there is nothing else
offered to the attention.

The Student must bear in mind what has already been observed, that the
Chalk or Pencil produces its effect by a line for the Forms of objects, and by
multiplied lines for the Shade ; and also that every line is, in fact, a contradiction
of Nature, however true to her it may be in effect.

No object in Nature has a line round it, which the Chalk or Pencil must
necessarily give, to exhibit the shape of any object ; neither are the shades on any
object m Nature made up of a multitude of lines : here, then, are the contradic-
tions which the mind must be made to lose sight of in all cases ; but above all in
Foliage. It is not in the outline alone, but in the outline viewed in connexion
with the space it contains, that we acknowledge a likeness, as in the three first
Examples on the opposite page ; for if they were deprived of the outline by being

ON FOLIAGE.

cut out, we still should have as clear an idea of their different forms : and so of
all solid and unbroken forms. These remarks, however, do not apply to Foliage,

and we shall presently see
why. To be sensible of the
rotundity of objects, we must
also be able to apply Shade
to them, so that we may
know the nature of the sur-
face as well as the Form.
The addition of the Shade is also suggestive of the presence of Light. Thus,
then, with the Chalk or Pencil, we may convey ideas of Form, and Light-and-
Shade ; and to these may be added the character of the surface.

Already instructions have been given in reference to the drawing of Forms ;
and now we have to learn what are the properties of Shades, and how they may
be represented. In the first place, they are even— alike in depth of colour every-
where ; or if they be darker in one part than in another,
it is by imperceptible gradation from lighter to darker, and
not by sudden transition. In the second place, Shade is
retiring ; that is, it appears to recede. In the Example «,
the Shade, as there represented, is even : and whether it
be desirable to produce it by lines at all, or by lines in any
direction, it still ought to be even ; so far this is one step
towards being like Nature. It must now be made to
appear as if it retired, like Example b ; that is, it must
suggest to the mind that idea. In Example a the Shade
appears to lie on the surface of the paper ; but in Ex-
ample b, it appears to sink below it : here, then, are the
two distinguishing facts with regard to Shade, irrespective
of its depth. We must experience sensations analogous to those we receive from
Nature, ere we can pronounce the imitation true. In Nature we can put our
hands into the Shades, but we put them upon the Lights.

The light, or illuminated parts of objects, are the most attractive, in
proportion to their brightness ; and it is in the light parts of objects that
we see their character and peculiarities. When an object, or any part of it, is

44

ON FOLIAGE.

obscured by shade, it is then difficult for the eye, without an effort, to clearly dis-
tinguish it ; and as the light parts serve to make those in shade understood, the eye
refuses to labour unnecessarily on the shades. For these reasons it is important
to bear in mind, that as in Nature it is the illumined parts of objects which
attract our attention, so must they be attractive in Art. On this consideration, —
the attraction of all bright parts of objects, — hinges one of the great difficulties to
be overcome. Light parts, also, must appear to come forward in contradistinction
to Shades ; and unless these effects be produced in all cases, nothing satisfactory
is done.

We will consider the Lights and Shades separately, beginning with the
Shade. In imitating Nature, it is always desirable that the operations of Art
should, if possible, follow her course; but with the Chalk or Pencil this is
impossible. Nature puts on the Light and leaves the Shade ; whereas the Chalk
or Pencil puts on the Shade, and leaves the Light (the white paper). Consequently
as the Form of an object, being obtained by an outline, requires less labour and
less evidence of material than the Shades, the attention of the Student is
attracted to the Shade, and the Light is partially or altogether forgotten. Thus
the influence of Art with the Chalk or Pencil is perpetually liable to be lost,
because its operations are directly the reverse of Nature.

While, therefore, the hand is busy in putting on the Shades, the eye should
watch the influence of its operations on the Lights ; for, without Shade, the
white paper is not Light, wanting the contrast of shade, which alone can make it
appear luminous and attractive. We shall now endeavour to prove and exemplify
these positions, by the attempt to draw a Tree, or, what will answer the same
purpose, a part of one.

In the first place, then, it is important to know what belongs to Foliage
generally, in order that what constitutes the peculiarities of each Tree may be the
more easily superadded.

The shaded sides of Trees are gradually darker from the top towards the
bottom, and from the extremities on either side to the centre, not by any sudden
and violent transition, but by imperceptible gradation.

In depicting Foliage it is best to begin with the Shades and with horizontal
lines, passing the Pencil from right to left, and from left to right, leaning rather
more heavily on those lines passing from left to right, as the surer way of keeping

ON FOLIAGE.

45

them horizontal, making them also of equal length and breadth, and of equal
strength, so that the entire tone of colour may be equal, as in Example 6, Plate 6 ;
and in passing downwards, so terminating them as to leave crooked forms, as
shown separately in Example 2. This is a very important part of the operation.

When sets of lines can with certainty be placed on the paper in this
manner, the Student should unite them to each other, so as to form a body of
Shade of any required quantity and intensity. In doing this, he must particularly
observe to make each set of lines, as well as each individual line, of the same
strength, so as to preserve the most perfect evenness in the Shade ; giving to each
set of lines also variety of form and size, and never allowing them to be seen
following each other, as in Examples 3 and 5, but sometimes barely attaching, and
sometimes separating, so that numerous interstices may be left, of various sizes.
The sets of lines must, at the same time, be so united as to prevent the eye, as
much as possible, from detecting their unnatural forms, or their number. See,
again, Example 6.

The principal points to be remembered with respect to Shade in Foliage, may
be thus summed up : —

1st. The general evenness of the Shade. This is dependent on each

line, and each set of lines, being of equal strength.
2nd. Making the Shade gradually darker towards the centre, and

towards the lower part.
3rd. Leaving numerous insterstices,

4th. In uniting the sets of lines, so that neither their precise forms
nor their number may be apparent.
The inclination of the sets of lines must be towards the left, on the left hand
side, at d, of the general mass of Shade ;

and towards the right, on the right hand
side, at e, of the mass ; each set of lines
as they approach the middle of the mass,
at c, gradually becoming less oblique.
These are important considera-

tions which must be remembered, and carried out with every set of lines.

To carry into effect the preceding instructions, which are in accordance with
what we observe in Nature, it would hardly seem possible to choose any

46 ON FOLIAGE.

instruments of Art more inappropriate than the Chalk or Pencil; the glaring
dissimilarity to Nature presented by the shape of each set of lines separately,
is even repulsive, and so totally unlike anything we see in Foliage, that if it were
not from the convictions of our judgment, we could never suppose we had ad-
vanced one step towards an imitation of Nature.

This may be sufficient to convince the Student how little is to be obtained from
any inherent properties in the materials or the instruments of Art, be they what
they may ; and how indispensably necessary it is to have a clear idea of what is to
be effected at every step, that he may surmount the difficulties which attend
every stage of his work, and know not only how, but when to grapple with them.

The lines should be kept at regular distances from each other, not so as to
show alternately light spaces of white paper and dark lines of the Pencil, but so
as to be even, and still show that the shade has been produced by lines. On
this depends the possibility of making the shaded parts of Foliage appear semi-
transparent ; for if the lines be placed so close together as to be no longer
separately visible, this effect, as well as all appearance of leafing, is entirely lost
(see the Shades in the Trees of Plate 15) ; and if they be too widely separated,
they will become too obvious, and not only will they not look like shade, but
their own positive dissimilarity to Foliage will become too apparent to be
tolerable, as in Plate 14.

Before proceeding farther, it will be requisite to show how the Shaded side of
Foliage is commonly done, and the natural consequences of it (see Example 3,
Plate 6). Here all the strokes slope from right to left, falsely giving the idea of
some sloping surface ; they are made darkest at one end, and joined at the other,
effectually preventing the shade from being even ; they are wrong individually, and
more so collectively, by being passed over each other at the extremities. The
form of each set is obvious, and all their faults are increased and multiplied. So
also are those of Example 4, where the lines, though horizontal, are, from being
unequal in colour, and at various distances, still quite as wrong as those seen
in Example 3, if not altogether from the same causes. Again, in Example 5,
each set is following the other, and so representing a flat surface in shade, not
an even shade over an irregular object.

We come now to consider the outline, its peculiarities, properties, and effects.
By the outline, the peculiar character of the Tree is pourtrayed in the form of

ON FOLIAGE.

47

the leaf; but though this characteristic outline may give the form of the leaf,
it yet cannot pour tray all the leaves. By the Examples given below we may see
that more than a certain quantity is not required. The outlines give us a clear
idea, not only of there being leaves where they are
thus positively represented, but we have also an jz J ~~*^y ^T?

impression on our minds of the existence of leaves

in the wlii to paper included within these outlines. <?**s,
If that impression be clearly conveyed to the mind ^yip r ; v3
by the general representation, any attempt to ^'^f./^W 1
depict leaves individually would be unnecessary,
nay, more, it would be useless. The Artist is not
a painter of leaves of Trees, but of their broader
and more general features; he cannot therefore
pretend to depict them precisely and minutely, s> j Jh^7
because he cannot see them either on the masses of <^ ^
Light or of Shade. In the body of the light parts,
the leaves are overlapping, and breaking the out-
line of each other, so that the eye cannot follow them ; and to the same circum-
stances, in the shade, obscurity is added, rendering the shaded parts of all Trees
so very similar, that looking at some isolated portion of the shaded part of any
one, it would be difficult to name it.

It is the peculiar form of the leaf of a Tree which must suggest the character
of the outline to be adopted : whether it is to be irregular, like the Oak ; round,
like the Elm ; or long and oval, like the Ash. It may also be here remarked, that
the folds, or masses of leaves, sometimes take the form of the leaf: in the Oak
they are irregular; in the Elm, round; in the Ash, long and oval ; and in the
Willow, of a still more elongated oval than the Ash.

In Example 4, Plate 7, the forms of the leaves of the Ash, and the way
in which they grow on the branch will be seen. The leaves are composed
of two curved lines ; and the group radiates from a centre.
If a line be drawn so as to touch the outer extremity of
each leaf, we should have a large oval of this form ; by
carefully preserving this general form, we obtain, in a great degree, expression
of another characteristic of Foliage, — Flexibility.

48

ON FOLIAGE

We come now to consider what kind of outline will best exhibit the form of
the leaves, and their general arrangement in groups of an oval form.

It is best, at first, to draw the general form of the groups of leaves, and
their masses, with very light curved lines, according to the kind of Tree intended,
as in Example 1, Plate 6* Whilst an effort is afterwards made to pouvtray the leaf
by the characteristic outline, the general form of these masses serves to guide the
hand in obtaining the general roundness, and the mind has, consequently, less to
claim its attention at each step.

When Foliage is first traced by a very light characteristic outline, like
Example 7, Plate 6 — a method frequently employed, and when, in completing
the Tree, it is found necessary to make the outline darker, the first cannot be
rubbed out entirely, for then it might as well not have been drawn ; and it being
too tedious to follow exactly the first line, so as to make it as dark as required, a
fresh outline is necessarily made, which, by sometimes doubling the line first
made, and sometimes accidentally agreeing with it, causes both to be wrong,
though each separately might have been right; the one effectually defeats the
intention of the other, and both are spoiled.

When the general forms are traced as recommended, the characteristic
outline may be added ; and this is best obtained, by drawing at first only those
lines on which the emphasis is to be laid (as in Example 7, Plate 7) : these
are all the upper lines of each leaf; and they should be always drawn from the
centre of the Tree — where they should be light — towards the extremity, where
they should be leaned on heavily, and be there made darker, and more emphatic.
Unless the articulation be gained on the proper line, and also on the right part of it
(the extreme end outwards, as at a a a a), it is quite impossible either to draw the
leaves of a Tree, or any fold of it, of their true form, or to turn them in their
natural position, especially on the right hand side of the Tree, Those who are
not accustomed to place lines in these directions are always embarrassed ; and
often, when attempting the practice of turning them on the right-hand side,
feel as if they were drawing left-handed, though, so far from it, it is allowing
the hand its most natural motion.

These lines should be long practised in this way, singly ; and it is desirable,
whether drawing those on the right, or those on the left, to commence with the
lines in an upward direction, as those at a and e, in the Example on the opposite

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Plate 7

Fx 6

ON FOLIAGE.

49

page, so as to form, at first, the groups, like c c, and afterwards bending down-
wards in the manner of d. They should also be drawn of various sizes, gra-
dually increasing, so that the power may be acquired

of drawing them perfectly, and with facility, either X

^^^^^^ ^^£^

by the motion of the fingers and wrist, or of the arm
from the elbow and shoulder.

The appearance of Flexibility in the leaves con-
tributes much to give the idea of roundness in the
individual folds of a Tree ; and this is obtained by

making the first lines incline a little upwards, and " S^//'
sloping them more as they gradually proceed down- ^ ^ V \ N zz— &

wards, making them, at last, perpendicular, where the * U /y* y/'
true shape of the leaf would be more clearly seen ;

the other leaves being seen in perspective, and overlapping each other wholly or
partially, cannot, of course, be seen so plainly. Though no leaf be individually
and entirely drawn, or attempted to be drawn, so much is done as to suggest the
rest, and the eye and the mind are better satisfied.

The emphasis being secured on the strokes outwards, they are united by
merely keeping the Pencil on the paper till it reaches the point, whence again the
stroke starts outwards, and the outline is made complete, as in Example 2, Plate 7.
The result thus obtained is more natural than that seen in Example 1,* where
the emphasis being laid on the line passing inwards, and increased on the ex-
treme end inwards, as shown at a «, in Example 6, it is impossible to turn round
either naturally or freely; and the leaves on the right hand side of the Tree
appear to turn upwards, whilst those of the left turn downwards. What is thus
done is done badly, awkwardly, and with great effort; the leaves are neither
natural in their shapes, nor in their position on the branches; and, besides,
they do not seem pliant. The defects of this method may be more evident on
examining Example 6 ; where a portion of the character of Example 1 is drawn
at large, with the lines extended by a paler colour, so as to show that if such as
are drawn in Example 1 were continued, they would never unite in such a way
as to give the true form of a leaf; they also fail to give the least idea of the
proper attachment of leaves to a branch.

* This is the most prevalent and erroneous mode of drawing Foliage, and I notice it for those reasons.

50

ON FOLIAGE.

The contrast between these Examples is striking. The very defects and
errors of Example 1, are rendered more conspicuous by the effort which has been
made to turn round on the right-hand side. It is evident that this must be done
with great difficulty ; and that it is quite impossible by such means to give the
least likeness to Nature in the form of the leaf, or to gain the least appearance
either of roundness or Flexibility. Though, in any case, it would be a waste of
time to delineate the shape of leaves of Trees with precise exactness ; still the
shape must be so far obtained, that the mind may have a perfect cognizance of
the whole truth, from the amount of truth exhibited.

Again, in the illumined masses of Trees, to which we principally confine
the representation of the leaves, we are conscious of their roundness from
their contrast with the shade, where they appear almost flat, because shade
prevents our seeing the roundness of the masses of leaves, or folds, as they are
called; and the expression of roundness depends on the arrangement of the
outline.

By examining Example 2, Plate 7, it will be seen that the paper encompassed
by the outline appears round, and very different from Example 1, of the same
Plate ; because each turn of the lines on the right hand side of Example 2 cor-
responds and appears to be connected with, and to become the counterpart of,
those on the left hand side, their connexion being carried on by the imagination,
in such a manner as is shown by the dotted lines at the left hand and lower
corner of the Example at a. No such appearance of rotundity is to be seen in
Example 1, one of the most common methods employed; on the contrary, the
whole appears perfectly flat.

There is another mode by which Flexibility may be still more perfectly
expressed in the outline, and this is by occasionally separating the lines which
represent the groups of leaves, and doing only just so much as may assist
the imagination to perfectly comprehend the general form, without depict-
ing it entire.

The Examples on the opposite page will make this understood. In one
we have a continuous and unbroken line, exhibiting indeed the character of
the Tree, and the groups of leaves, but scarcely indicating any Flexibility. In
the other, the groups being separated by spaces, as at a a, a more forcible
expression of Flexibility is thus obtained.

ON FOLIAGE.

To the production of the characteristic outline of Foliage there are four
considerations to be borne in mind : —

1st. The form of the leaves, and their radiation in groups.
2nd. The emphasis on each leaf at the outer extremity.
3rd. Their arrangement, so that the portion of space they inclose may
appear rotund.

4th. The Flexibility ; which first depends on the general curved form
of each group of leaves ; and secondly, on these groups being
separated occasionally, and not represented by one continuous and
unbroken line.

The Outline, therefore, as well as the Shade, must be practised separately,
until the hand can execute each with facility and certainty. The Student must
observe that he is not to imitate his examples by servilely copying them ; but
must endeavour to express
their character and mean-
ing as preparatory to an
imitation of what he will
find in Nature. In this
manner he must practice
within doors, before he at-
tempts to draw from Na-
ture out-of-doors.

When the Student has
made himself master of the Outline and the Shade, by practising them sepa-
rately, and in the manner which I have endeavoured to explain, he should
next proceed to attach them to each other. If each separately be right, and
effect its purpose truly, they will, in connexion, aid and augment the merits
of each other.

In combining the Outline and Shade, the principal points to be considered
are the position of the characteristic Outline, and its effect upon the Shade.

This characteristic Outline requires to be placed where we most plainly see
the leaves of the trees in Nature,— namely, on the extreme and outer edge, either
of the Light or Dark side, where it separates from the sky, or any other object; and
on the extreme edge of the masses of leaves in Light, where they separate from

52

ON FOLIAGE.

the Shade. The retirement of the Shade depends on the Outline, represent-
ing the leaves, being placed immediately on its edge, and being made a little darker
than the Shade ; and thus we shall have the same effect as has already been
spoken of in page 43. Looking at Example 3, Plate 7, the Shade there, from
being alone, lies on the paper, and appears to come forward, and all that is seen is a
connected set of horizontal lines without meaning ; and the eye also sees their form,
which is unnatural, but inevitable. In Example 5, however, where the outline is
attached to the Shade, the paper representing the Lights appears to come forward,
and the Shade to retire. The Shade, here, appears to sink below the surface of
the paper, and gives the idea of a space between, and beyond the surrounding
folds, into which it would seem possible to pass ; and this retirement of the Shade
acts again on the Lights, by making them appear proportionably nearer, more
brilliant, and more attractive : here, in the imitation, we are attracted by those
parts which we are attracted by in Nature, namely, the Lights; and the atten-
tion which was given to the Shade in Example 3, is given to the Lights in
Example 5.

The general roundness of the Tree depends on the Outline being made tender
at the top and at the extremities, and becoming gradually darker, and exhibiting
the leaves larger, towards the middle and lower part of the Tree ; and displaying
the greatest degree of strength on the Foliage of the nearest branches, that is, on
those which come forward towards the spectator, where the leaves would, of
course, be more plainly seen. In proof of these positions, see Example 8, Plate 7, in
which the instructions so far given have been carried out. If this Example be
preferred to Example 9, of the same Plate, that preference can be explained and
justified. We can there trace effects to their causes ; we can see the appliances
of Art based on a knowledge of certain forms and properties of Foliage. In
Example 9 the erroneous outline, such as Example 1, has here been applied to
Shade falsely done, like Example 3, Plate 6 ; each is wrong separately, and when
combined the errors are still more obvious : every important consideration has
been neglected.

In Example 9, sometimes the Outline is seen on the edge of the Shade, and
sometimes passing beyond, or lost in confusion amongst it, — now with leaves that
are oval, then round, — now angular and small, the next instance large and
pointed ; and thus are drawn forms of every size and kind, each contradicting

ON FOLIAGE. 53

the other, and none perhaps agreeing with Nature, evidently showing that there
was no contemplated intention, and no design when setting out. All the hopes
and expectations were confined to seeing how it would look when done : and
what could be expected from the effect of so many strokes, heaped on each
other, or so promiscuously connected, but a mass of confusion ? Here has been
no adaptation of means to an end.

Nothing can be more displeasing to the eye, or more repulsive to a correct
judgment, than contradictions like these. Where is the roundness,— where the
flexibility of the Foliage ? Where the evenness of the Shade ?— and does it retire
as it ought ? Where is there any truth of Nature displayed ? Here the mecha-
nism is most evident; every stroke may be counted, or nearly so. Can it be
said that Nature is the better imitated in consequence ? And yet in this, or the
like manner, thousands attempt to draw Trees. In Example 8, the means em-
ployed are much less obvious ; and to count the strokes, individually, would be
difficult, if not impossible. Is the imitation, therefore, less true to Nature?
The answer in this, as in the former case, must be— No. The strokes, without
regard to what they are intended to express, should never be distinctly apparent ;
for in proportion as the means used, become evident, the likeness to Nature
becomes less and less, and the poverty of the imitation more apparent. A com-
parison of these Examples may serve to show that there is no inherent merit in
the materials: the same materials have been employed in both, and yet how
different is the effect of each on the mind!

The Student must be reminded to practice from Memory ; and he should
have recourse to the original, merely that, by comparison, he may satisfy himself
that he has followed the same principles, and, as effectually, as they are there
illustrated. This practice from Memory is a sine qud non in drawing Trees,
because the mechanism of the model is not, or ought not to be seen; and
because, in copying Trees from a Drawing, it is no more necessary to have
exactly the same number of strokes, than in drawing from Nature to give the
exact number of leaves on an individual tree. What is wanted is, that it should
distinctly convey the idea of there being few, or many leaves, and of what kind.

Although it has been asserted that all that is required in the Shade is even-
ness of colour, and that no further approach to Nature need there be attempted,
still if the Student be sufficiently skilled to do what has already been put

54

ON FOLIAGE.

•

before him, he will find that, by another adaptation of the lines on the
Shades (such as in the annexed Example), he may obtain a greater likeness
of Nature. He will here see that the lines are not horizontal, as he was first

taught to make them, but that each
separate line has a different inclina-
tion, so as to represent the various
positions of the leaves in Shade, while
the evenness of the Shade is still rigidly
preserved. To do this well requires
some practice ; and it should not by
any means be attempted until the
previous and more simple process,
already detailed, be well learned.
When attempting this, the kind of
Tree must be first considered— whether it has broad or narrow, long or short,
leaves ; and appropriate lines must accordingly be adopted and distributed, as in
Examples 1 and 2, Plate 8, where it will be seen that the instructions already
given have been strictly attended to. One of the most important advantages to
be gained by the adoption of this method is, that as the means by which the
desired end is effected are less distinctly perceptible, the attention of the spec-
tator is more exclusively confined to the character and spirit of the imitation.

There are also other important
advantages attached to this method. '«
By thus giving the lines every variety
of inclination, they are perpetually
presented at right angles, or nearly
so, with the outline of the illumined
folds of the Tree, as at a a a a; and
by these means so much character
is at once gained on the edges or
extremities, that if a representation
of the Oak be intended, a Charac-
teristic Outline will hardly be required,
character may not be so nearly, nor so exactly given, as that of the Oak,— very

For any other Tree, — although its

ON FOLIAGE.

55

trifling additions will change the present angular forms into such as are more oval,
like the leaves of the Ash; or the character may be at once obtained by
adopting longer and thinner lines for the Shade.

By these means, we also get rid of a great defect which attends the mode of
placing the lines of the Shade horizontally, as explained in pages 44 and 45 ; for

though character in some degree be thus

-

%. - given to the sides of the folds, as at a a, it

\t6? is never given to their lower parts, b b,

where, in Nature, the leaves are most
plainly seen. The addition of a Character-
istic Outline to the defective parts is con-
sequently imperative ; but as this cannot
be perfectly adjusted to the Shade, some

WW

bare space is inevitably left between the Shade and the Outline,

By the method which 1 have explained, the character of the Tree is marked
on the extremities of the shaded side, so that there also a definite Outline is
dispensed with ; and this is done
by simply indicating the general
form of the leaves, by such lines
as a a, with the same broad point
of the Chalk or Pencil, as was
employed for the Shade. By these
means, the character is added to
the body of Shade, as at b b at
the extremities; while both the
Character and Shade unite and
harmonise in such a way as to

produce a nearer likeness to Nature. This may be seen by comparing Example
2, Plate 9, with Example 7, Plate 6. The Student, by carefully examining the
branches of the Oak and Ash, in Plate 9, and comparing them in this their com-
plete state, with their first stage, as shown in Plate 8, will perceive how very little
has been added, in the shape of Outline, on the extremities of the folds in Light
where they separate from the Shade, or on the extremities of the Shade where
they would separate from the sky, or any other object beyond them. By an

56

ON FOLIAGE.

attentive examination he will also not fail to discover where, and to what extent,
additions have been made, because the Examples in Plate 9 are those of Plate 8
completed*

Plates 8 and 9 are not only exemplifications of the methods pointed out, but
also evidences of their efficiency. Examples 1 and % of Plate 8, are, respectively,
preparations for an Oak and an Ash, or a portion of each, the Shade only being
done, yet with all its properties ; so that in this respect there may be no necessity
for subsequent additions. Were the eye only to determine, it could find no-
thing satisfactory in either of these Examples, in their first stage, but rather
the reverse. It is the mind, however, which in this stage of the drawing is
the judge ; and being enabled, from previously acquired knowledge, to perceive
the truth amidst the apparent contradictions and deformities, it decides that what
has been done so far is right. In Plate 9 these same preparations of Shade have
the Characteristic Outline belonging to each attached. So great is now the change
— so much more is there of likeness to Nature — so little to be traced of the
unnatural and repulsive forms of the sets of lines composing the Shades — indeed,
so great is the change in all respects, — that it is scarcely possible to believe that
the first stages of these Examples were, or ever could have been, precisely those of
Examples 1 and 2, in Plate 8, Yet such they were. If the Student be satisfied
with the results, let him remember that every step has been guided by knowledge ;
that what has been done was not fortuitously done, but premeditated and pre-
determined ; not suggested by the eye or the feelings accidentally, during the
progress of the work, but by a determination of the judgment to adapt the powers
of the instrument employed to the exhibition of a series of truths, from a
conviction that the eye, the intellect, and the feelings could only be gratified by
the contemplation of what is true.

In Plate 9 another Example of the effects of the Outline is given, in the Stem
of the Tree, where the Example 3 of Plate 8, has been finished by its addition ;
and its importance and its power will be felt by comparing this Example in its
different states. Should this be not enough to produce conviction, the Student
need only turn to Example 4, Plate 8, where he will find that that which appears
to have neither definite shape nor meaning in the state he there sees it, may be
made to assume any form. There, much more of the first state is left obvious
than is desirable, but it is required for the Student's information.

ON FOLIAGE

57

Jf, in placing on the paper the strokes for the Shade, the Student should find
that they are too far asunder (which is a much less fault than being too close,
whether in Skies or Distances), he has only to fill in the interstices to make a
tone of colour as delicate as occasion may require, even to perfect flatness.

Besides the roundness of the folds of Trees, there is another marked feature
to be observed, — the general roundness. The mode of expressing this is also
determined by reference to Nature. As a Tree is a circular object, to a spectator
standing in front of it, the middle portion of the circumference is nearer than the
sides ; and as it is a tall object, the lower part is nearer than the upper ; and all
the gradations are to be found between the two extremes in the intervals. To
express then, in some degree, these properties, the leaves should be drawn
gradually larger from the top towards the bottom, and from the extremities
towards the centre. (See the various Examples of Trees.) To complete this
eifect of roundness in the general form, the Stems and Branches must be added ;
to the study of which the Student will now be led.

In concluding this part of the subject, it is necessary to observe, that the
Leaves of Trees appear more abundant on the light side of a Tree than on
the dark side ; for the contrast between its local colour, and that of any
bright object behind it, such as the sky, being less on the light than on the dark
side, the interstices are not so evident in the one place as in the other.

1

CHAPTER VI.

ON STEMS AND BRANCHES.

m H E properties common to the Stems and Branches of most Trees are the
J- following : — the Stems, from the root upwards, — and the Branches, from the
point where they unite with the Stem, or with any Branch supporting them, —
become gradually smaller ; the Brunches proceeding from the Stem, or from each
other, are never so large as that part of the Stem or Branch whence they
proceed ; the uppermost Branches approximate to the direction of the parent
Stem ; and the others gradually form greater angles with it, as they grow lower
down on it, till they eventually turn towards the ground : the same will be
observed of the ramifications of the leading Branches.

These observations are exemplified by an Avenue: the Branches on the
side of the Tree which is turned inwards to the Avenue, being obstructed by
those from the Tree opposite, shoot upwards (the lower ones more remarkably
so) for the light indispensable to their growth, and thus form what is said to have
given to the Architect the first idea of an Aisle (see Plate 10); whereas on the
outside they are found to grow as above stated, — the lower Branches extending
laterally, and the upper becoming more vertical, according to the height of their
shoot from the parent Stem. These observations apply to the Oak, Elm, Ash,
Birch, Beech, &c.

The various Firs present, directly or indirectly, exceptions to this rule. The
Scotch Fir has the Branches at top thrown out in a more horizontal direction ;
thence, as they grow lower down, gradually bending towards the ground, to
a degree commonly greater than in other Trees; though by obstruction the
Branches of the Fir are altered in their growth, as well as others. The
Larch, and its kind, have all their Branches at right angles with the Stem,
or nearly so.

ON STEMS AND BRANCHES.

5 9

The Branches shoot out all round the Stem, and the smaller Branches shoot
from the greater in the same manner. By examining the Example here given,

and Plate 10, it will be seen how this principle is
carried into practice : those Branches, which grow
on that part of the Stem turned towards the spec-
tator, cross its outline, and are united to the sur-
face; those on the sides are inserted on the out-
line of the Stem or Branch to which they are
attached ; while those growing on the unseen part of
the Trunks appear to be cut off by its outline, and
their insertion is therefore unseen. In drawing
Stems and Branches, such lines must be adopted,
whether straight or crooked, broad or thin, as will
best express the character of the Bark.
Much

care is required to attach properly
the Branches to the Trunk, and
to each other. Not unfrequently
this is done in the clumsy manner
shown at c c, in Example 1, where
the Branches at their shoot from
the Stem appear swelled, and then
suddenly and unnaturally become
taper. The best and simplest way
to affix the Branches to the Stem is
by first drawing the lines for the
Branches, so as to make well-defined
angles with the Stem, and the same
with the Branches, where they unite
with each other, — as a a, in Example
2; then by merely cutting off the
extreme sharpness of the angles
with curved lines, they become properly, because naturally, united.

To attach the Stem properly to the ground, the outline on both sides of it must

60

OX STEMS AND BRANCHES

be brought down to, and united with, the ground, as at b, in Example 2, in the
same way that the Branches have been united with the Stem, and with each
other; and the surface included within the outline should imperceptibly unite
with the ground, as in Example 2, so as to leave no distinct termination. It
is very important that this should be attended to, as the appearance of rotundity
is greatly assisted by doing it properly. On referring to Example 1, it will be
instantly seen that, however round the Stem might have been made to appear on
its surface, the way in which it is cut by the straight line of the ground, would be
in opposition to the idea of its rotundity. This mode, however, of attaching a
Tree to the ground is by no means uncommon.

Both Branches and Stems now require covering with the Bark ; and here
it will be observed that, on the Stems at the Root, and on the leading Branches
towards the Stem, the character of the Bark is more strongly marked than in
the more remote ramifications. The Bark is more or less rough and cracked,
according to the kind of Tree, or its age ; and in proportion as Trees grow older,
the Bark is more deeply furrowed. Some have a very thin, smooth, and light
Bark : of this kind is the Bark of the Beech and the Birch, which contrasts so
beautifully with their Foliage.

Before attempting to pourtray these appearances, the Student should observe
that the Trunk and Branches of a Tree, being cylindrical, receive the light and
shade as cylinders do ; that is, the brightest part is some little distance from the
outline, on the light side, and the shade is darkest, at some distance from the
outline on the shaded side, according to the direction of the light. See in illus-
tration, the Beech Stems, Plate 10, and the cut at page 59. The peculiarities of
all Trunks and Branches must be subject to these general considerations; although
from the roughness of the Bark they are apt to escape notice. The lines chosen
for representing the Bark must be made dark or light, broad or thin, according to
its nature. See the Stems, Plate 11, the first stage of the Drawing, where, in
addition to the considerations above-mentioned, it will be found that, on the
shaded side, the lines are placed so near to each other as hardly to convey any
idea of the character of the Bark, because the shade obscures the furrows. As no
attempt is made to depict leaves in shade, so none need be made to depict the
Bark in shade : indeed, as a general rule, it is better to give too little of the
character of any object in shade, than too much.

ON STEMS AND BRANCHES.

(>1

It has already been observed that the leaves of Trees are most plainly seen
where the light separates from the shade. If the Student turn to Plate 5, he
will there see that the character of the materials composing the building is most
forcibly marked on the edges of the lights and shades, just where they separate
from each other. The same observations equally apply to all cylindrical and
rotund objects. For instance, in the Basket here
given, the line of wickerwork, which lies on the limits
of the light and shade, is most plainly seen ; and the
others, as they gradually approach the light, or are
obscured by shade, become less and less distinct, till
in the lightest or the darkest part they are scarcely
perceptible. As the Bark on the Stems of Trees is, in the same manner, most
plainly seen where the light becomes blended with the shade, its character should
be there marked most plainly, the lines being there made darkest, and gradually be-
coming lighter towards the light. By these means, both the character of the Bark,
and the roundness of the Stem, are at the same time most significantly expressed.

For proof of this, and of the attractiveness of all light parts, compare
Plate 11 with its finished state in Plate 12. It will be seen that the characteristic
lines are of the highest service on the light parts, and that it is only there they
are required, since the shades have not again been touched. In Plate 11 the
light sides are bald and thin, unmeaning and unsatisfactory ; but by the addi-
tion of such character as is given to them in Plate 12, they are made to look
emphatic and dense, round and complete.

An Example of the effect of this principle is to be found in the upper Hand,
Plate L The Student will perceive, if he examine attentively, that just where the
light falls into the shade, the lines employed to express the rotundity of the
Fingers are there more distinctly marked and separated. So in Plate 4, imme-
diately along the outline of the Deer, and along the line of the Back, and down
the side of the Face, — on the confines of the light where it is merging into shade,
— its hairy covering is the most evident : but in the shades, in both Plates, the
lines indicative of the texture are hardly distinguishable.

Were I, in this instance, calling attention to an Example of my own Draw-
ing, the Student might perhaps suppose, that what has been pointed out was
referable to some peculiarity in my style of Drawing ; but when these things are

ON STEMS AND BRANCHES.

found to exist in the works of others, and those the most distinguished, whose
objects of study are so widely different from my own, they cannot fail to strike
him, and make him see and feel that there are laws which govern Art, and that
their application is not confined to one class of subjects. This should encourage
him to unremitting diligence, and should kindle in him a determination to
acquire the power to apply these laws successfully in the department of Art to
which he intends more especially to devote himself, seeing that in so doing, he
has made sure advances towards their universal application.

We come now to the Branches of Trees, which, in consequence of their
twisting very much more than the Stems, require, not only the application of all
the instruction which has been given concerning the latter, but something in
addition, — depending on the Laws of Light.

All objects, and parts of objects, receive the greatest quantity of light when
the rays are at right angles with their surfaces, and less as the rays fall on them
obliquely. Let a «, in the annexed Example, be rays of light ; and ABC, the

surfaces of three objects

mr

of equal size, placed
at different angles with
them : it will be seen that

the surface A does not re-

ceive any rays to illumine
it, on account of its being
precisely in their direc-
tion ; but B, being some-
what inclined towards them, receives the light partially ; whilst C receives it in the
greatest degree, in consequence of being at right angles with the rays. From an
observation of these facts, as here shown, the light and shade of the Base of the
Column will be easily understood and accounted for. The application of this prin-
ciple to the Branches of Trees is shown in the first Example on the opposite page :
the light being supposed to fall obliquely from the left, those parts, such as I) D,
which have the same inclination as the rays, are, of course, in shade ; in other
parts the shade is regulated accordingly as they recede from the light ; and, vice
vend, those parts are left most bright, as L L, which are the most directly opposed
to the rays. Now let all the circumstances belonging to the Stem be added, as

OX STEMS AND BRANCHES,

63

before explained, and the result will be like this Example, or as Plate 12, the
finished state of Plate 11. The effect, both of the Stems and Branches, will also be

more vigorous, by the indication of the moss which is found
on them ; this being often of a dark colour, affords consider-
able contrast and animation, as well as additional likeness-
Branches do not grow on a level with each other,
from opposite sides of the Stem, or of other Branches,
but alternately, all round, at different heights, as in each of
the Examples given in this page. The angle of their sepa-
ration must not be overlooked, as this not only shows from
what part of the Stem they grow, — whether the upper or
lower part, or from each other, whether near the extremity,
or near the Trunk, — hut also indicates, in some degree,
the kind of Tree to which they belong. In the more
sturdy and spreading Trees, such as the Oak and the Elm,
the Branches — more especially the lower ones — diverge
abruptly from the Stem, appearing to interrupt the conti-
nuity of its direction, as is shown in Example 1 below; while
in the more
delicate and
slender, such
as the Birch and the Willow, the
Branches shoot at a more acute
angle from the Stem, forming
with it, and with each other, as
they grow up in a similar direc-
tion, an assemblage of graceful
lines of a like character. See
Example 2.

The Student should now
compare Plates 14 and 15, with
Plates 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, and
22 : if he has profited by the instructions which so far have been given, he will not
only perceive their respective merits or defects, but will be able to account for them.

Ex. i

64

ON STEMS AND BRANCHES.

By thus exercising his judgment, he will become more thoroughly sensible of the
advantages of following the Laws of Nature closely ; and from what he already
knows of these laws, he may estimate their additional importance in a more
advanced stage of pictorial art. He will now be able to understand why a slight
sketch, from the hand of a skilful Artist, is often preferred to a more laboured
production, which may yet be very imperfect, notwithstanding its greater preten-
sions to completeness. Such a sketch will be preferred, because it displays the
effects of a concentrated knowledge, expressed with simplicity and power, and
apparently without an effort. Its merit, however, does not consist in its slight-
ness, — in its being devoid of the evidences of labour, — but in its truthfulness, with
regard to the objects represented and the means employed. No gratification is
afforded by a sketch, however free, where truth has been sacrificed or neglected,
as in Plate 14 ; and as little is derived from such laboured productions as are
exemplified by Plate 15, where a pains-taking workman has toiled, without know-
ledge, to make the means attractive.

Up to this point, it is to be presumed that the Student has been able
to follow out his instructions, and to carry them into operation successfully and
with certainty. He can now imitate the leading characteristics of Foliage, and of
the Stems and Branches apart from each other. It must now be his business to
unite them, and produce, by their union, effects not otherwise to be obtained.
Before he attempts this, however, he should attend to the following observations.

The Branches are so lost among the Foliage that no one can be distinctly
traced to its extremity. It is by the Branches that we are able to distinguish
more clearly such lights as represent the illumined folds of the Tree, or those
spaces through which the eye penetrates to the sky beyond ; and it is here,
across these spaces, large and small, that we most plainly distinguish the
Branches, and are able, by these occasional glimpses of both Stems and Branches,
to obtain an idea of their continuous form. The Stems and Branches also
greatly contribute to the effect of the general roundness ; and additional force is
given to the expression of roundness, by the shades cast on the Stems and
Branches by the Foliage, such as a, in the Example on the opposite page.
These shades should always be darkest at the lower part, and lighter towards
the Foliage, which will thus immediately appear to advance, while the Stem
or Branch will appear to retire.

OX STEMS AND BRANCHES.

65

Among the impressions we derive from Trees, are those of semi-transparency
in the Foliage, and of opacity in the Stems and Branches. Before our portraiture
can be complete, ideas of those qualities
must be excited in the mind. The
Branches and Stems in shade being made
darker than the Foliage in the drawing,
cause the Foliage to appear semi-trans-
parent ; whilst the lightness of the Foli-
age acts, in its turn, on the Stems and
Branches so as to make them appear
opaque : and when these impressions, of
transparency in the one and of opacity in
the other, are produced, their relative
depth of colour is right. Those parts of
the Foliage also which are in shade are made to appear distant, when the
Branches are seen continuous across it ; or nearer, when it spreads before them,
and their continuity is hid from our observation. The Student should now
turn to Plate 9 ; he will there find parts of an Oak and an Ash complete, which
will assist him to comprehend and to feel the above observations. Intricacy is
another attribute of Trees ; it is to the shaded parts that this observation more
especially applies; and this effect of intricacy is given entirely by the number
of the Branches, which are traced across the spaces seen in the shades, where
the masses of Foliage separate.

If what has been pointed out be thought minute and dry, my reply is,
I write for the uninstructed, for the inexperienced, and the young, — not for
those who are wise in these matters. Though the explanations may have
appeared long to the Student, he must remember that he has now learned the
leading features of all Trees, and therefore is so far prepared to draw all. He
has now but to add to his pre viously- acquired knowledge of the general
characteristics of Trees, the peculiarities of each, and very little practice, com-
paratively, in them, will render him master of Foliage.

" Nothing is denied to well-directed labour — nothing is to be obtained
without it" The Student must not expect the hand immediately to execute
what he perfectly understands; it requires diligent practice to obtain perfect

66

ON STEMS AND BRANCHES

command over it. He must be content to go on surmounting his difficulties
and weeding out his errors, one by one, as his judgment improves ; and if he
see them disappear, though ever so slowly, he is certainly cultivating the ground
to advantage. It is indolence which leads us to complain of the difficulties.
Certainly, to imitate Nature well is not the easiest thing in the world ; but
if the Student be willing to labour, he will have his reward. None can find
their way by a readier road than a right one ; and it is mere delusion to
talk of this or that style being easier than that which has truth for its object,
and sound principles for its basis. Many who are anxious to avoid the difficulties
which diligence is content to struggle with, run off from one " style" as they
call it, to another, — or, more properly speaking, from one manner to another,
— always fancying that to be the most worth having which they have not yet
tried ; till at length, when more time and labour, in a thousand mistaken ways,
have been wasted, than, if well spent in a right one, would have insured to
them the largest share of gratification in the exercise of Art, or in the
contemplation of Nature ; they find that they have been only running round
in a circle of errors, without making any advance towards excellence in the
practice of Art. They have merely acquired a smattering and confused know-
ledge of a language which they can neither speak nor understand ; and mortified,
at last, to discover the truth they at first refused to be persuaded of,— that
it is on knowledge, and not on nostrums, they must depend, — and blushing
for their elaborate mistakes, they excuse themselves in the affected candour
of their self-accusation, — " I find I have no genius for Drawing."

To those who are seeking a short road to Art, it may be unpalatable to be
told that none can be shorter than that which knowledge makes short ; and that
there are no by-paths by which idleness and indifference may find their way to a
goal, which is only to be reached by industry and intelligence. The really short
road is that which is made so by entering on a right course from the outset,
taking advantage of the instruction to be derived from the experience of others,
and persevering until what is seen to be right be accomplished.

The Student should now know that what has hitherto been done is yet
capable of inprovement, and by what means this is to be effected. Looking
again to Example 8, Plate 7, he will there see that all that is done in
giving roundness, is done by the Outline alone, but that one circumstance,
common to the light and shade of round objects is omitted, viz., the half-tone

ON STEMS AND BRANCHES.

67

of colour existing between the brightest light and the deepest shade. The
addition of this middle tone causes the light parts to appear more round. This
should be done by lines, indicative of the kind of Foliage, placed near the Outline,
and next to, and lighter than, the Shades, but by no means allowed to interfere
with either. Examine the Examples in Piute 9.

As the forms of Trees are, apparently, changed much more by a different
arrangement of the Stem and Branches, and an altered position of the light, than
by alterations in the forms of the Foliage, the eye consequently does not so easily
detect any change in the lattter as in the former. For proof of this, examine
Plate 13, where, in each of the Examples, a separate form of Tree lias been
adopted, and in each this form has been preserved throughout; consequently,
in the forms of the Foliage, all the Trees are so far exactly alike ; yet, from
their having Stems and Branches differing in shape, size, and quantity, they
appear, as a whole or in groups, strikingly dissimilar. It is for this reason
that, when drawing Trees, the Student should be especially careful, in the
first place, to obtain a correct representation of the forms of the Stem and
leading Branches, and then to add the masses of Foliage; drawing these last
by light lines, and marking the kind of Tree, as distinguished by the shape
and arrangement of the leaves. This may be well done in such Trees as the
Oak, Ash, Elm, or Willow, because the forms of the folds partake so much of
the form of the leaf, — being in the Oak irregular ; in the Elm, of a broad oval ;
in the Ash, of a longer and narrower oval ; and in the Willow still longer : some-
times for the forms of the folds it is only necessary to adopt the general form
of the leaf, and thus to indicate, by the slightest means, the kind of Tree intended.

In attempting to draw Foliage for the first time, the adaptation of the
shade and character to positive forms usually increases the difficulties so much
felt by beginners, as seriously to impede their progress. The Student, moreover,
is often induced to believe, that unless the precise form of the original be secured,
he has no hope of ultimate success ; and this leads to the same impression in
regard to details, which he labours to copy minutely, a thing, of all others, I
am most solicitous, for his own sake, he should cautiously avoid, if it be his wish
to draw Foliage well. Such minuteness is not only unnecessary, but is positively
detrimental. Should he be ambitious of attaining the excellence which he
admires in the works of others, he must look beyond the acquisition of mere

GS

ON STEMS AND BRANCHES

dexterity in the mechanism of Art. He should devote his attention to matters
of a higher kind —to the causes of the pleasurable feelings he has experienced ;
and under the guidance of his model, endeavour to produce the like impres-
sions for himself, and with the like force. Although, in the beginning, it may
be desirable to adopt the methods we have seen successfully employed by
others, yet, eventually, in a mind acting for itself, they become greatly modi-
fied, or entirely changed, and better adapted to the expression of its own views
and feelings.

The impracticability, as well as the uselessness, of copying the forms of
Foliage minutely, have been shown in page 41 ; but the same reasons do not
apply to the Stem and leading Branches, — features of so much importance.
Though their various shapes may be more accurately ascertained than the forms
of the Foliage, and drawn with more ease and precision, it is yet necessary to
attend carefully to their general properties. The Student will experience greater
difficulty than he at first might imagine, in depicting the intricate sinuosities of
the Branches ; and will often find that, with all his labour, his Drawing is not
exactly true. If the first line he draws — which should in every object be that
to the left hand, or the upper one — vary from Nature or his model, the next —
the right hand, or lower one — must vary in the same degree, as the second
must be entirely dependant on the first ; nor is this more the case with the
Stems and Branches of Trees than with all other forms. In the perfect cor-
respondence of the second line with the first consists the truth of the drawing in
both ; and to make either the Stems or the Branches true, the lines must be
fitted to each other, so as to preserve their gradual diminution ; and this pro-
perty, before spoken of, must be as strictly observed in the smallest as in the
largest (see Examples in Plates 10 and 12). A very usual method of drawing
Branches, but which is grossly incorrect, may be seen in Plate 14. Though in
speaking of this, or any other error into which the Student may fall, it may
seem hypercritical to complain of errors in individual features and lines, instead of
general defects, it must yet be remembered that his Drawing is composed of a
number of parts of various forms, and lines of various directions ; and that though
the error of a single line may be minute, yet if that minute error be found in
every line of the same kind, its repetition becomes a general and an obvious
defect. It is certain, therefore, that to remedy the general fault, he must refer

Plate 16

Plate 18

ON STEMS AND BRANCHES.

69

to the original minute cause of it, and correct the particular error in every line in
which it occurs. On a further examination of Plate 14, the Student will discover
a combination of errors and defects. Here thick Branches are attached to
slender, and are less thick at their origin than elsewhere ; instead of diminishing
gradually in size, they are now slender, now thick ; thicker Branches are seen
growing at the top than towards the root of the Tree ; Branches placed near the
root, are represented as growing upward ; the lower Branches, and most of the
upper, by reason of the regularity of their bifurcation, and the sameness of their
curves, look like pitchforks ; their extremities, instead of being lost among the
Foliage, are constantly to be seen ; and so far from appearing to support the
Foliage, they are but a collection of coarse, dark, or black lines, lying upon it.
Were it possible to separate any one from the Foliage, and to view it by itself, it
would be difficult to imagine it to be the Branch of a Tree. Compare the
difference between the Examples in this Plate and Plates 10 and 12. Even
the least instructed would not prefer the former to the latter.

In concluding this portion of the subject, it will be as well to point out to the
Student the mode of study on which his improvement must, from the first to the
last stage, in a great measure depend.

We will suppose him to have completed a Tree, or a part of one, and to be
dissatisfied with its execution. Instead of condemning his Drawing, because, on
the whole, he sees a manifest difference between it and that which he has tried
to imitate, and preparing instantly to attempt a second, let him first patiently
criticise what he has done. Let him begin his examination at his first step, the
Shade, and ascertain if he have observed its qualities : if he have not, he must try
to discover to what cause or causes its defects are to be attributed. Having
discovered these, and corrected them, let him then examine the Outline, and
proceed with every other part in succession, step by step. Such investigation will
not only enable him to detect his failings from the beginning to the end, but will
also excite his ingenuity to provide means for their correction, so as to make his
Drawing more like the original, by exhibiting the same truths with corresponding
power ; and even though his efforts to remedy the errors of his copy be in-
effectual, he will, from thus having ascertained his mistakes, be less likely to
repeat them in a second effort. His feelings, aroused by investigation, will prompt
him to renew his exertions; and from having discovered his failures and their

70

ON STEMS AND BRANCHES.

causes, he will apply himself more confidently to the same task, not as a toil, but
as a trial of skill. He thus learns to think and to act for himself; his inquiry
is no longer, — "How like is my copy to the original?" He now asks, — "Is
it equally true to Nature ?" He no longer servilely follows the steps of another
— taking for granted that they are right — but, guided by his acquired know-
ledge, he finds his way to Nature by himself, and expresses his sense and
estimation of her beauties without requiring to be prompted.

It is a good plan for the Student to preserve and date his various essays;
as by referring to them he can ascertain the degree of his improvement Many,
from neglecting this useful test, are discouraged more than they otherwise would
or ought to be ; for as their judgment has become matured, they are more alive
to the faults which they still commit, while they forget the progress they have
made, and the faults which they have learned to avoid. Defects are more clearly
seen, too, in proportion as the Student is more sensitive ; and he is often
so engrossed by them as not always to be aware when he is right. His feel-
ings thus become constantly excited ; and, from his supposing that he is always
in nearly the same track, and from his success not keeping pace with his desire
to improve, he is apt to conclude that the progress he makes is but trifling.

When it is his object to make trial of his skill in drawing any particular
Tree, he must first look for, and study, its leading peculiarities, — as displayed
in its manner of growth, in the form of the Leaf, in the character of the Branches,
and in the angle of their separation from the Stem and from each other, as
well as in the colour and texture of the Bark.

Before the Student ventures on the study of a Tree of another kind, he
should first be able to draw well that which he commenced with, — I have usually
found it best to begin with the Ash, — that by comparing what he has been able
to do with what he wishes to attempt, he may the more readily discover the most
appropriate means. We will suppose it to be his desire to draw the Beech,
in Plate 16, a study from Buckhurst Park : he must first observe the form of the
Leaf, as from this he must decide on the shape of the Outline; and then the
form and arrangement of the Lines in the Shade, In the Beech, the Leaf is
rounder than in the Ash, consequently the form of the Outline must be rounder,
something more like that employed for the Elm, in Plate 20 ; but the Lines,
instead of exhibiting round general forms, like those of the Elm, must express

OX STEMS AND BRANCHES.

71

long and undulating general forms, and must be much detached, to give freedom,
and to represent the way in which the Leaves grow on the Branches, The
Foliage of the Beech being more loose and flowing than that of the Elm, it re-
quires that the Outline should be very sparingly introduced, and should by no
means be rigid and connected. Much more, however, depends on the distribu-
tion of the Shade, The Shade should be done by Broad and Short Lines — though
they can hardly be called lines ; and the Sets of Lines, instead of being short,
like those seen in Example 6, Plate 6, or Example I, Plate 8, should be long,
undulating, and continuous. These undulating forms may be easily detected in
Plate 16, as I have there left them tolerably obvious, in order that the Student
might be the better enabled to follow them, and to comprehend what I mean.
These sets of lines should be made to correspond with the direction of the
Branch, and to follow its various windings. Though for the most part they are
horizontal, or nearly so, singly, it will be generally found that, collectively, they
are passed in long flowing lines, sloping on each side of the Tree, so that the
lower ends may be farther from the trunk than the upper, as has been explained
in page 45 j and this position will be found constant, especially towards the

■

lower part of the Tree, and towards the extremities of the lower Branches.

As the Branches are separated from each other at longer intervals in the
Beech than in most other Trees, and as the diminution in their thickness is still
more gradual, and less perceptible, they produce those long sweeping lines so
characteristic of this Tree ; those which shoot nearest to the Root, like the
Branches of most deciduous Trees in the like position on the Stem, incline
towards the ground as they leave the Stem, though at their extremities they
generally turn upwards. Both Brandies and Stem are covered with a smooth,
silvery Bark, which naturally suggests that the Lines on it should neither be too
evident nor have the same inclination, as in the Stems of other Trees, but should
be placed transversely, as seen in the Example on page 59, and as applied in the
drawing of the human figure ; and just sufficiently shown as to exhibit well the
roundness. See Plates 10 and 16, where, in the darkest parts, the lines are
placed so close together as to be undistinguishable : where they are required
to be seen, the Student has already been instructed by what has been said
in pages 60 and 6L He will also find that these lines are more and more
curved as they are placed higher up on the Stem (according to the laws of

72

ON STEMS AND BRANCHES.

Perspective) ; this helps to give height, and likewise aids the expression of
roundness.

Moss, of a dark and rich colour, is mostly found on the Branches, and,
I believe, always at the Root of the Beech. This gives occasion for the dark
patches of colour to be seen on them in the Example. These patches contribute
to give vigour and richness : they must not, however, be left, as they often are,
like so many ink stains.

I have now placed before the Student the peculiar features which this Tree
possesses in addition to the leading properties common to all Trees. But before
he attempts this, or any other subject new to him, his best plan is to do with it as
he would do with a machine, the construction of which he might wish thoroughly
to understand ; — that is, to take it to pieces, and learn how each part is made,
that he may know how to put the whole together. Let him first try the Shade
and the Outline separately, then the Stem and the Branches, each in their turn.
In putting these together, one Branch, with its Foliage, is enough to begin with ;
and when he can do this successfully, he can surely do all, — to depict the whole
tree he has but to repeat, again and again, what he has once perfectly done in
a single branch.

As the Student, when drawing all the various Trees in succession, will find
that he has, of necessity, to repeat in every succeeding one much of what he
has done in the one preceding, he should sedulously endeavour to first acquire
the ability to draw some one really well. In consequence of this repetition,
under certain modifications, he will find that, supposing it to have cost him
fifty trials to do the first, as required, really well, he will be able to do the
second equally well after thirty, the third after fifteen, the fourth after five, and
so on until, at length, he is able to effect his purpose at the first attempt. I
have made use of these comparative numbers for the sake of explaining more
simply, by their proportion, the extraordinary acquisition of power which the
Student may derive from his future tasks, in having executed one well.

The only new difficulty the Student has to contend with in delineating a
number of Trees in the same Drawing, is so to proportion the separation of
the Lines, or so to unite them, that each may accord with the relative
size and distance of the others. This is chiefly done by making the Lines
tolerably distinct, and plainly marking the character of the nearest Trees ; and,

ON STEMS AND BRANCHES.

73

towards the distance, placing the lines gradually so near each other as entirely
to lose them in a perfectly flat tone of colour, whatever may be its depth. —
Examine particularly those Drawings where the foreground objects are imme-
diately contrasted with those most distant.

In the observations which I have made on the Examples of the Beech Tree,
1 have avoided all mention of what has, in the former pages, been placed before
the Student; because he will find, if he examine, that most Trees possess the
same general features, with which, by this time, he ought to be thoroughly
and intimately acquainted. I have only thought it worth while to mention
that there are incidental varieties and individual peculiarities; — and these he
will surely be able to detect by studying the Plates. Nor ought he to be
disappointed that more than this is not done for him, however he might desire
it, or believe it to be necessary, to save him trouble ; for after all that has
been presented to him, either here or elsewhere, he must expect to have much
to do for himself; and he who waits to learn till all he requires to know
be presented to his notice, will never learn at all. Something must ever be
left to his own diligence and penetration, which the instructions contained in
this Volume are meant to awaken and strengthen rather than to supersede.
Indeed, the constant reference to the various Examples is intended to promote,
as much as possible, a disposition in him to observe for himself, and to draw
his own conclusions, so that he may fairly become his own master, and, by
applying what he has learned from the guidance of others in the beginning,
be enabled to guide himself to the end.

I have not here entered on what constitutes Beauty in Foliage, either as
regards the form of the individual Tree, or the beauty arising from the arrange-
ment and combination of Trees ; on these subjects the Student will find ample
information in pages 48, 49, and 80, of " The Principles and Practice of Art."

CHAPTER VII

ON FOREGROUNDS.

TT is not my intention, in this part of my subject, to speak of the various
-L objects which may be brought in to aid this very important portion of a
Landscape. At present, I would only enter with the Student on the consider-
ation of Grass and Herbage, the study of which seems properly to follow
that of Foliage, as they partake so much of its nature, and are inseparable
from the Foreground of Landscape.

In these, again, the Student must be reminded to imitate the general cha-
racter, not the individual details ; he must not, therefore, pretend accurately
to depict the various Grasses which he finds, but must rather endeavour to
convey an impression of the length or shortness of Grass generally, its scarcity
or abundance. With these differences it is found everywhere ; and its different
effect, whether appearing on an even lawn, or on a rugged bank, arises from the
difference of the ground on which it grows. For this reason, whilst drawing
the Blades of Grass, — which must be represented by a number of strokes of every
varied position, — he must so arrange them as to distinctly convey an idea of

the degree of evenness
or unevenness of the
ground underneath, as
in Example 1 here given.
In this preparation it will
be seen that most of the

lines for the Grass are

bluntly terminated at top and bottom, and almost unavoidably so, especially
if they be dark ; as it is barely possible to produce dark lines except thus
contrary to Nature, where we see every blade of a taper form, as every line

ON FOREGROUNDS.

75

should be, as at a and e. Turning to Example 2, it will be found that each blunt
line lias been afterwards made taper ; and that the results at each part, a and

e, are different. At
a, the lines give dis-

tance to the light be-
yond, the lines them-
selves having the form
of the blades of Grass,
and standing as their
representatives ; but

at e, where also they are terminated in a point, the blades of Grass are not there,
represented by the lines themselves, but, on the contrary, by the white -paper
enclosed between the lines : the character of the Grass being thus given to the
white paper below, the strokes then stand for the Shade between them ; and now
the white paper, in its turn, gives distance to these masses of Shade.

The Student will observe, that here the like effects take place as in Foliage ;
the character is seen and most distinctly marked in the same places, namely,
on the extremities of the Shades, where they separate from the Light, and on
the extremities of the Lights, where they separate from the Shades. The
groups of lines require to be modified and blended with the paper at each
end by lighter lines, made smaller, and more apart, as they recede from each
group. The other separations between the masses of Shade should be of various
sizes : the largest must have light lines, inclining in various directions, to break
the monotony of the broad masses of Light, and also to make it the more
completely understood that these masses are meant to give the idea of Grass,
as much or even more than the lines themselves* The smaller portions of
paper intervening between the groups of lines, may be employed for leaves
of the Acanthus, or the Mallow, or of other kinds, of various sizes ; this
may be done by uniting the lines above and below these portions of paper, as
may be seen in different parts of Example 2. Leaves, of all sizes, are also
formed by taking away the serrated terminations of the masses of lines, so as to
form a clear edge to each ; and in the largest, the central fibre, which, in Nature,
separates the leaf into equal portions, should be marked by a line more or
less distinct. All this increases the attraction of the Lights, and contributes

76

ON FOREGROUNDS.

to the grand object of making the likeness most remarkable where the lines are
fewest. Compare the preparation of every part of the Foreground in Plate 11,
with the Foreground completed in Plate 12, to see how these things have been
prepared, and afterwards completed. What is found here, however, is not
enough; the Student ought to look attentively at every Drawing in which
there is a Foreground represented and described, especially at Plate 21, that, by
viewing the varieties each presents, he may be fully convinced that these prin-
ciples are constantly followed out. From being previously acquainted with
them, he will know how to trace their operation, and will be able readily to
discover such a manner of employing the means or materials he uses, as will
Jbest insure success to his efforts.

The varieties of Herbage present a wide field for the Student's observation.
The Burdock, the Acanthus, the Thistle, with many others, possess the most
beautiful and varied forms, and serve, by their judicious association with other
objects, to enhance the characteristics of the Landscape, and by their portraiture,
to augment the general truth of the whole Picture. The effects produced by
their introduction may be seen in several of the Examples given, particularly
in Plate 21.

For an instance in proof of the trifling difference which may exist, and often
unavoidably, in the manipulation of the materials of Art on totally dissimilar
objects, the Student — bearing in mind what has been said to him on the subject of
Grass— where its character is marked— the form of the ground underneath, Ac-
has only to turn to Plate 4, where he will see that there is a great similarity in
the individual form of the lines themselves, whether for Grass or for the hairy
covering of animals : perceiving this, he cannot fail to be convinced of the
impossibility of rightly applying them in such instances to the surfaces of
bodies, except with reference to, and with a perfect knowledge of, the forms
underneath ; and that but for this knowledge, the small individual variety of the
lines could never be made to convey such varied and distinct ideas.

The delineation of every blade of Grass by an equal number of strokes is
no more required than to represent in Foliage each individual leaf; for who
could ascertain the number there may be in either case ? All, however, can judge
of the abundance or scarcity of Grass, whether it looks flexible, and as if it would
give way to the pressure of the foot or not. See Plate 14 ; in the Foreground of

ON FOREGROUNDS

77

which are exhibited some such mistakes as must inevitably be made by those who
attempt to be bold and dashing at the expense of truth ^who display their swiftness
by their rapidity in doing wrong, and their freedom by the liberties which they
take with Nature. In this Drawing, much of what is meant for Grass looks
like the teeth of a saw, or anything which the spectator's imagination can
suggest, equally remote from the real object ; and it is difficult to say
what the other random lines intended for Fern look like, — certainly not like
Nature. It is surely sufficient encouragement to study Nature, if only to
avoid the certainty of committing such gross mistakes. Can it be matter of
congratulation to deal thus roughly with her, and thus to confound all her
beauties in one unintelligible mass of lines, which the hand, without guidance
from the mind, has liberally distributed in every direction but the right, when
the truest imitations of her may be effected, even more speedily and more
freely?* I cannot possibly comment on all errors; but for the sake of those
who would study Art, I point to such as are most common, and even popular;
so that by contrasting the different results of truth and error, I may be able
to make the greater impression.

While some are waiting the inspirations of genius, and others are giving
the reins to impulse, erroneously believing that their dashing, or their laboured
counterfeits, look like the productions of real talent, the more rational Student,
whether Artist or Amateur, will be continually gathering his materials from
all the sources presented to him ; and, by diligent mental labour, correcting and
refining his practice, knowing that the productions of a cultivated imagination
will be so imbued with the true spirit of Nature as sensibly and effectually to
address themselves to the taste and feelings of all.

Having so minutely detailed the operations of the Pencil, and having led the
Student to such a careful investigation of Nature, I may have risked objections
from those who argue for general breadth, and the effect of a whole, rather than
such particular attention to individual objects. I acknowledge the attention of
the spectator may be best arrested by a union of the parts into one general and
effective combination, rather than by the individual portions of a Picture. Yet
how is that powerful whole to be produced, when ignorance is displayed in

* In Plate 15, Nature is equally disregarded, even by the more pains-taking; though of the two,
these errors, if not less objectionable, are perhaps less mischievous, in their results.

78

ON FOREGROUNDS.

each of the parts composing it, be it what it may, — a Picture, a Building, or
a Machine ? Now, as nothing can come of nothing, and as a knowledge of
the whole must be made up of a knowledge of the parts, the whole, to be good,
necessarily involves the goodness of the parts. He who best knows all the
properties belonging to each part is most likely to know what are essential
to his purpose, and can either bring all to his aid, or reject such as he does
not require.

Surely it is too soon to urge the Student, young in Art, to aim at general
effect, — to grapple at once with the combined difficulties of a more advanced
stage of Art, — Composition, Light and Shade, and Colour, with all their pro-
perties. To expect all this from one who, as yet, does not clearly understand
the properties of a single object, is to look for fruit ere the blossom be expanded.
Does the Musician press his Pupil, who scarcely knows the names of the notes,
to consider and attempt the general effect of concerted pieces ? The art of
Painting cannot be seized by a coup de main any more than that of Music.
The knowledge of either is no inherent gift. To advance with certainty in
any study we must proceed with caution, and step by step.

CHAPTER VIII

LIGHT AND SHADE.

BEFORE entering on this department of Pictorial study, I take it for
granted that the Student can produce a correct Outline, be the object
of his pursuit what it may. If unable to do this, Light and Shade will not assist
him in rectifying any of his errors, but will rather tend to expose them. Nor can
he properly understand or apply Light and Shade without a knowledge of Form.
He has already been told that Light and Shade do not effect any change in the
Form of an object, and that they constitute a distinct and separate study. Light
and Shade, as here treated of, will be confined to the individual objects. For
their application to an entire Picture, whether embracing few or many objects,
the Student should consult Chapter VI. of " The Principles and Practice of
Art," where it is explained at large.

Light and Shade, in the practice of Art, should be considered as the means
of representing a surface in such a manner as to convey to the mind a correct
idea of the character of a solid body — whether convex or concave, prominent or
indented. In a Drawing, the Outline is to the contour of a real figure, or body, just
what the Light and Shade are to its surface: the one leaves an object superficial,
the other makes it appear solid. It is, therefore, necessary to be acquainted with
Form, before attempting Light and Shade; for though the latter produce the
greatest illusion, by imparting to all objects their peculiar character as solids, thus
powerfully counteracting the influence of the flat surface on which they are
drawn ; yet all this power would be rendered nugatory by an incorrect Outline,
whilst that incorrectness would become more strikingly obvious by the application
of Light and Shade.

In the use of the Chalk or Pencil, it is to be observed, that no absolute
and positive likeness to Nature is produced by the lines themselves, abstractly
considered. It is, therefore, a matter of the first importance, in any attempt

so

LIGHT AND SHADE.

at Shade with these instruments, to study the proper application of lines, when
their repetition, in order to obtain Shade, thus becomes unavoidably necessary.
To obviate the anomalies consequent on the employment of the Chalk, or Pencil,
for this purpose, these observations are called for; the more so, as the number
of the lines, as well as their intensity, is increased in order to obtain the Shades,
and on these all the labour is bestowed ; whilst on the Lights few lines are either
used or required. Now, by separating in the mind the consideration of a
Shade partially, or entirely obscuring an object, from the character of the
object as seen through the Shade, according to its intensity, we shall have the
idea of a perfectly equal and unbroken tone of colour, — such as may be seen in
open doorways, or on perfectly flat walls. From this it might be concluded, that
in the Shades there should be no positive evidence of the direction of the lines, in
order that the perfect evenness of the Shades, which is their distinguishing quality,
should be preserved. As the character of a surface in Shade, however, is gene-
rally more or less seen through it, the lines employed to express Shade should,
where the character of the surface is perceptible, be so adapted as at the same
time to indicate that character ; when portions of the surface have any particular
direction, the lines should have the same, and yet should be so close together,
and so equal in depth of colour, as to convey distinctly the idea of Shade. These
observations may be seen carried into practice, in the Trunks of the Trees of
Plate 12 ; they may also be understood as applicable to the tiled Roofs of
Buildings, where the tiles, not being entirely obscured by the Shade, require
the strokes on the Shade to follow in their direction, so that the Shade and
the character of the surface, partially obscured, may at the same time be
represented. This application of the suggestions of Nature prevents the Shades
from being poor and unmeaning, as they would be if they were made perfectly
smooth, and forms a corrective of the opposite extreme also, of making lines in
the Shades too obvious, by which all appearance of their retiring is destroyed.
See again, Examples 1 and 2, Plate 8, and Plate 11, where the Shades only are
clone, so that the influence of the character given in the light parts of these
subjects, as completed in Plates 9 and 12, may be the more apparent, and thus
more forcibly prove how much is obtained by giving the interest to the illumi-
nated parts of objects, and there with all possible power.

When looking at objects in Nature with w r hich we are well acquainted,

LIGHT AND SHADE

81

we are so perfectly conscious of their forms, and of their surfaces, that the eye no
longer voluntarily follows the contour ; indeed, it is impossible to see the precise
limits of any object, unless it be superficial, and very violently contrasted. The
most familiar objects will prove the truth of these remarks. Let the Student
regard any object or objects around him, at the moment he is reading this, and he
will find that their forms are so variously contrasted, — sometimes having their
Outline strongly relieved by the darker or lighter colour of others behind,
sometimes mingling with another of like intensity of colour, or so involved in
Shade of unequal intensity, or so extremely unequal in their own local colour, —
as to render it absolutely impossible to follow the precise form of any one. The
Student on examining each of the Shaded Examples given in this Work, will
find that this important fact has been constantly observed in all

In Plate 10, the light Beech Stems are, in one place, separated by some very
dark ones beyond them ; in another, they relieve, by opposing their own dark
colour to what is light and distant. Through the whole course of their Outline,
either on the illumined or shaded side, they are alternately contrasted by light or
dark, plainly or indistinctly seen, so that we arc affected less by the impression of
their different shapes, than we are by their apparent roundness and solidity, and
with the space which intervenes between them in every part, from the nearest to
the most distant object. These oppositions, and consequent separations of one
object from another, take place in every varied degree, whether with the stubborn
and opake Stems and Branches, or with the flexible and transparent Foliage, —
with large or with small objects, with the whole as with the parts. It should
never be possible, in Art, to trace the Outline of objects equally in every part

+

whenever Light and Shade is added, otherwise they will not appear to be solid
and round, nor will the attention be arrested, as in Nature, by their surfaces.

The Student will find the same peculiarities, if he examine the Outline of the
various Trees in Plate 20, where they separate from the Sky behind them,
or from each other, and where the confines of the Stream are lost among the
Rocks ; indeed, if he direct his attention to the Stream, the Rocks, the Trees,
or the Figure, or to any part of this or the other completed Drawings, he will
find it difficult, if not impossible, to precisely follow the course of the Outline
of any object, whenever Shade or Shadow has been added to explain the
surface.

82

LIGHT AND SHADE.

Sometimes it is necessary to produce, in the first instance, a perfectly flat
tone of colour, where the Shade passes over a smooth object, or one com-
paratively so,— as across the Water, in Plate 21 ; and this is absolutely demanded,
when it is required to detach from Shade: any object of a darker colour, such as
the dark Cow, and at the same time to give character to it. For if the Shade
across the Water were composed of lines distinctly separated from each other, no
matter what their direction, those intended to characterise the Animal would
scarcely be distinguish ed, — all would be one mass of confusion.

Roundness and solidity are, or ought to be, the consequence of Light and
Shade, as certainly as Form is the result of the Outline ; but as Light and Shade
are more powerful in their influence on the mind in creating illusion, — with-
drawing the attention from the flat surface on which the Picture is painted,— the
moment Light and Shade are introduced, the Outline should cease to exist as an
Outline ; it is no longer required. That which Nature takes so much pains to
conceal, namely, a distinct Outline, the young Student is mostly to be found
exerting himself to display; but now that he knows this truth among others,
he will see that it is much more profitable to spend his time in following up,
with sedulous attention, the study of those principles, the importance of which
I have endeavoured to impress on him.

In Light and Shade, distinction must be made between natural Shade, and
accidental Shadow. Natural Shade is that which is inseparably connected with
every object receiving the light. Accidental Shadow is that which one object
casts on another, by interposing between it and the light ; and this accidental
Shadow may be removed by removing the object which produces it.*

An accidental Shadow is darker or lighter than the shaded side of the object
casting the Shadow, accordingly as the object on which it falls, is, in its local
colour, darker or lighter than the object casting the Shadow. For instance, if the
Shadow of a white building be thrown on another white building, the Shadow
thrown will be darker than the shaded side of the building throwing it ; but if the
building which throws the Shadow be of brick, or any material darker in colour,
then its shaded side will be darker than its Shadow, on the white building which
receives it. In these cast Shadows there are two other circumstances very
important to notice,— first, the form and intensity of the Shadow thrown ; and

* See " Principles and Practice of Art," pages 95, 96, and 97.

LIGHT AND SHADE

83

secondly, the form of the object or surface over which it passes ; because on the
edge of this accidental, or cast Shadow, the Student must mainly depend for
the indication of the nature of the surface which receives it.

For a further illustration of this, see the Example below : where the
Shadow of the Stick, across the moulding of the base of a Column, shows dis-
tinctly which parts of it are concave, which convex, and which upright, and to a

degree which we look for in vain from its
natural Light and Shadow. So with Ex-
ample 1, in the annexed cut ; where, from
the edge of the cast Shadow, it is evident
how far the Wall, in the blank Window,
recedes from the general surface, and
how much above this the Architrave
around it projects : whereas, in Example 2, it is difficult to believe that any
part of the Architrave comes forward; although the recess may be as well
understood in this as in the
other example. The Student
must attend to this as a point
of the greatest consequence ;
as the forms given to the
Outline of these accidental
Shadows, help him more than
the Light and Shade neces-

sarily belonging to an object,
to explain clearly the precise undulations of all surfaces, and to give them the
appearance of solidity. More instances, occurring in other Examples, might be
enumerated ; but these I leave the Student to discover for himself.

Though the shaded parts of objects, in any degree round, do not separate
from their light parts abruptly, but gradually, and the rays of light glide over the
surface, yet the Shadows which such objects cast,— whatever be the surface on
which they fall,— are just as well denned on the edge, as those from any angular
object, the light and dark parts of which separate abruptly. See the Shadows of
the Trunks of the Trees on the ground in Plate 21, and in Plate 10; and the
Shadow of the Pollard Willow across the white Cow ; the Shadow of the ear

84

LIGHT AND SHADE.

across her face, and of her leg across the dewlap ; which are just as sharp and
well defined as are the Shadows of the Leaves in the foreground on each other.
Shadows, whether they be cast by round or cylindrical objects, such as a globe,
or the stem of a tree, have their edges just as well defined and clear as the
Shadow which falls from the blade of a knife**

All lines for the Shades and Shadows should be firmly drawn, as shown in
all the Examples, and of equal colour, whatever be their direction, so that the
colour of the Shade or Shadow may be even ; but on Flesh, they require to be
lighter, either at one end or at both ends, and curved, whether the surface be
concave or convex, as in the upper Hand in Plate 1.

Lines put on for Shade, or Shadow, if too light, must not be gone over
in the same direction, to increase the colour. It is difficult and tedious to
follow exactly those first made ; and in making one set of lines over the other,
with the speed of the first, some of the first lines are increased in their
intensity, two-fold, by the second, or the spaces between them are filled up,
and thus the evenness of the Shade is destroyed. Should the lines for the
Shadows be too evident, or come forward instead of retiring, or mark the cha-
racter too much, the Pupil has been already instructed how to remedy this, in
page 46.

Hitherto my remarks have been confined to the Light and Shade of objects
individually. Of their influence on objects collectively, I have treated at length,
in Chapter VL of the " Principles and Practice of Art," as a separate study ;
for, though Effect be produced by Light and Shade, there may, nevertheless,
be Light and Shade, without producing Effect, The latter is not the inva-
riable consequence of the former.

Most Amateurs, in their too great eagerness to use the Brush, are apt to
overlook the importance of first acquiring a knowledge of the elementary prin-
ciples of Art: allured by the fascinations of colour, they fail to perceive the
utility of the Chalk or Pencil. In their inconsiderate desire to attain the end,
they neglect the means ; and abandon as an impediment that which in reality
would facilitate their progress, and is indispensable to their final success. Taking
up the Brush before they are prepared to use it, they meet with obstacles which
they cannot surmount, and being dissatisfied with their abortive attempts at

* See " Principles and Practice of Art/' from pages 97 to 100,

LIGHT AND SHADE.

85

colour, and disinclined to resume a course of elementary study, they relinquish
the pursuit of Art, and moralise on their former infatuation.

Most beginners in Art look on the Study of Form as dry and unprofitable,
and pursue it with more haste than good speed. Buoyed up by false hopes,
flying from the troubles " they know, to others they know not of," they hurry to
the study of Light and Shade, to gain what is termed a "bold Effect,"— in other
words, a violent contrast of black and white, to hide or excuse their bad drawing.
This specious " Effect" may, indeed, impose on the entirely unlearned in matters
of Art; but those whose minds are enlightened, in however small a degree, see
through the specious veil, and find every original defect of drawing rendered more
intolerable by the very means employed to conceal it. Here again, as with Form,

there are difficulties equally tedious and difficult to overcome, augmenting those

*

which they thought to evade ; and, in the same ratio as these increase, the courage
to face them diminishes. But one more step remains, — Colour, They heedlessly
rush to this as their last resource, with the same vain expectations that led them
from Form to Light and Shade;— new difficulties present themselves in addition
to the former, and no new power, and still less inclination, has been acquired to
contend with them. \\ hat wonder, then, that total failure should be the result
of this

"Chase of idle hopes and fears ! Byron.

CHAPTER IX.

ON THE USE OF THE BRUSH.

■

IN entering on this subject, I shall first point out, as I promised, the relation
between the use of the Brush and the Chalk or Pencil, and show in what
manner the practice of the latter leads to the efficient use of the former. To do
this properly and distinctly, it will be best to explain in what they differ, and in
what respects the one lias an advantage over the other.

As the use of the Chalk or Pencil involves the Artist inevitably in the
production of lines which, as such, are more or less at variance with Nature,
he is compelled to exert his ingenuity to conceal their defects as much as
possible. The Brush does not naturally produce lines, and, consequently, its
effects are, in that particular, so much more like Nature; the advantages
derivable from its use are, perfectly flat tones of colour, and the imitation of
local colour of every degree of depth. The sense in which I here use the
term " local colour," is not to be understood as expressive of the difference of the
colours of objects, but of the comparative depth of each. In this sense local
colour may be represented by a single colour, sepia, for instance, which is one
of the best pigments for this purpose, and the most generally used.

From the Chalk or Pencil is to be obtained every degree of depth of colour
the instant it is wanted, from the lightest to the darkest, by the difference of
pressure; and its operations may be suspended for any length of time that the
Student may require either to collect his thoughts for what he is about to do, or
to examine what he has already done ; and all can be readily removed if wrong,—
its chief advantage to beginners.

On the contrary, the operations of the Brush, in Water- Colours, require
speed, especially in Foliage, and in passing over large spaces, inasmuch as the
colour dries rapidly. Here, then, if the Student have not all his thoughts at

ON THE USE OF THE BRUSH.

87

command, and be not prompt in execution, from previous practice with the Chalk
or Pencil, he can do nothing, — absolutely nothing. The tremor occasioned by
knowing that what he is doing must be done quickly, and, if wrong, cannot
be very easily erased, is of itself a great impediment to free execution ; and, if to
this be added ignorance of what is to be done, failure is certain. He is often
obliged to apply to his Pallet, either to increase the strength of colour, or, by
adding more water, to diminish it ; and to heighten his embarrassment, his colour
is drying because he is not sufficiently dextrous, — for if he have not the necessary
knowledge, dextrous he cannot be. When previously accomplished, however, in
the use of the Chalk or Pencil, he has but little to learn in the use of the Brush,
as he will find. Let him review what he has already learned, and he will see that
the principles of Art and Nature have not changed because he has changed
his instrument or materials. Foliage still grows the same, whether imitated with
the Brush or the Pencil. Objects retain their Forms, and are subject to the same
laws of Light and Shade, and have the same character ; but as he has already
learned how to depict their visible qualities with the Chalk or Pencil, his only
additional study is local colour. The mechanical difficulties of the Brush are
speedily overcome; so very speedily, that I have invariably found persons who
were capable of using the Chalk or Pencil well, use the Brush with equal
facility and power, after a very few trials. From the consequent decision of the
operations, that which has been thus done wears so much the stamp of truth,
vigour, and courage, imparted by acquired knowledge, as to have the appearance
of being done by an Artist rather than by an Amateur.

The Chalk or Pencil does not imitate local colour well without much labour ;
and such imitation, unless it can be done with judgment, should never be
attempted. This defect of the Chalk or Pencil is, in a great degree, overcome by
the employment of a tinted paper, as in the Plates 2, 3, 10, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21,
and 22. In these, dark objects, such as the Trees which cross the Sky, have their
local colour suggested by the colour of the paper ; and light in the Sky, or any
brilliant lights, such as those in the Water of Plate 17, 18, and 21, or any white
objects, such as the Cow in Plate 22* have their brightness represented either by
white opake colour, or by white Chalk. A more effective imitation of Nature is
thus obtained ; bright objects look more luminous, dark ones more rich, and solid
objects appear firmer. An impression of permeable space is produced ; the Trees

See frontispiece

88

ON THE USE OF THE BRUSH.

seem decidedly round, and the interstices of the Foliage pervious ; the Sky
appears distant ; and an idea is excited of the whole subject being pervaded by
atmosphere. All the Drawings on white paper, when compared with those on
tinted paper, appear cold, harsh, meagre, and less satisfactory in many important
respects. If the Student turn to Plate 13, he will see that, in the upper subject,
the light parts of all objects are left white ; and if the Stems of the Trees appear
darker than the Foliage, it is on account of the greater number and depth of the
lines placed on them : but however the Rocks, Roads, Buildings, and Foliage may
differ in their local colour, that difference here finds little or no expression —
in all, the bright lights are white. The reason why this local colour cannot well
be given with the Chalk or Pencil, and should therefore seldom be attempted, is,
that it is necessary to cover the object in such a way, that such lines as come
afterwards to mark the character may not be interfered with. The lower subject
of Plate 13 will exemplify this. The largest portion of the Castle has a tone of
colour over it, to indicate that the materials of which it is composed are of
a darker colour than those composing the other portion of the Building ; and this
local colour is represented without any lines being apparent, so that such as are
placed on it, to give the character of the materials of the Building, may be
plain enough to be perfectly understood. There is also some attempt to imitate
the darker local colour of the Trees, on the right of this picture ; these attempts,
however, are of necessity very limited, for here again the sun-lit parts of the
Mountains, the Grass, the Road, and of some of the Trees, are all white. Local
colour, however, is more beautifully and more effectively imitated with the
Brush; and in this chiefly consists the difference between its use and that of
the Chalk or Pencil. When using the latter, the Student has been directed to
begin with the Shadows, because it is much more easy to adapt the Outline to
the Shade than the Shade to the Outline, as no attempt is made to imitate local
colour, and as the lines for the Shade can often be so arranged as to render an
Outline unnecessary. In using the Brush, however, the operations may be re-
versed ; the general body of the colour, that is, the local colour, may be laid on
first, and with this is given the same form and character of the Foliage that
is given by the Outline from the Chalk or Pencil. See Example 1, Plate 23.

In Trees, there are of course a multitude of Forms to be expressed, and
all must be accurate in character; but when a considerable surface is to be

Plate 23

ON THE USE OF THE BRUSH. 89

covered, the colour is drying during the operation, and is apt to dry too fast. To
avoid, as much as possible, this inconvenience, and to accomplish all that is
wanted, each Form (as Example 1 , Plate 23) should be done separately ; and the
Brush should be kept moderately full, beginning at the top and towards the left-
hand side of the Tree, and observing the same motion of the hand as when using
the Lead Pencil. Whenever it may be desirable to attach to the first Form so
made, a second of the like kind, it is easy to do this, because the colour will
remain wet; to the second, a third may be added in like manner, and so on>
till sufficient be done. See Example 2, which in its results, corresponds with
Example 2, Plate 7 ; that is, the Form and Character thus given to the Tree
by the Colour, are the same as are given by the Chalk or Pencil, in the Outline.
By the former mode, however, instead of there being a quantity of white paper
enclosed by the Outline, the whole, except the required interstices, is covered
with colour, representing the local colour of the object; and herein lies the
especial difference between the productions of the Brush, and those of the
Chalk or Pencil.

When so much as is shown in Example 2 can be readily done with the
Brush, no difficulty will be found in completing a whole Tree. In attaching
the several masses to each other, the interstices, small and large, which, in all
Trees, are seen between them, more or less numerous, are to be kept light, as
may be required.

The form of the Tree and the Character of the Foliage being thus completed,
it remains but to add the Shadow, the Stem, and the Branches,— following strictly
the same order and the same principles that are to be observed in using the
Chalk or Pencil. The Student has, therefore, no new difficulty of importance
to contend with, except, perhaps, in preventing the second colour, for the Shade,
assuming, on the Shaded side, distinct forms, which may be confounded with
those produced by the first, which represents the local colour (see Example 3).
This colour for the Shade should never come to the limits of the first, or local
colour, on the Shaded side of the Tree, as at b b, Example 3 ; for if the form of
the first colour were not exactly followed by the second, a new form would be
created ; and if it were exactly followed, the edge on the Shaded side would be
too dark and hard. The colour of the Sepia, therefore, after having distinctly
expressed the character of the Foliage towards the light side of the Tree, should

90

ON THE USE OF THE BRUSH.

be so mingled with the first, or local colour, on the Shaded side, as to leave no
new Form ; this is effected by using the Brush with but little colour in it.

The most effective mode, however, of using the Brush in Foliage, and of
obtaining the nearest likeness to Nature, is to observe, from the beginning, the
same order of operation as in using the Chalk or Pencil, — that is, to put in the
Shades first, and the Light, or local colours, afterwards* By proceeding in this
manner, we are, moreover, enabled to work more deliberately, as less incon-
venience is to be apprehended from the colour drying. In applying the local
colour to the Shade, we can not only adjust it so as to leave any number of
interstices, but also in such a manner as to express most distinctly either the
lightness or density of the Foliage* The same mode of procedure may indeed be
employed with advantage in depicting all other objects.

In representing Grass and Herbage, Character on the Outline is not required
in the first tone of colour, as in Foliage ; the forms of the masses only are wanted,
to show their Outline when a path or road divides them ; Character must be
gained by the second operation, and this again is exactly the same as that of
the Chalk or Pencil, which has been previously explained ; the end is always
to be obtained in the same simple manner. It would be useless to multiply
Examples ; either the local colour should be first laid on, and the Shade and
Character afterwards added ; or these operations may be reversed, the Shade
being put on first, as with the Chalk or Pencil, observing the same principles, and
obtaining the same results.

As from the Brush even washes of colour are obtained, the Student should
carefully observe to pass all light colours over intervening objects of a darker
colour, or over the places where such objects are to come, so as to avoid leaving
any unnecessary interstices of white paper; and when Trees, or any objects
whose local colour is dark, cross the lighter colour of Skies and Distances, the
Skies and Distances should be first put in, and their colour should be passed
entirely over the places which Trees or other dark objects are to occupy. Such
lighter tones of colour as those on the distant Hills and Cliffs, to the right,
in Plate 24, should be passed without scruple over the places which are to
be occupied by the darker Rocks, Trees, and Buildings immediately under
them ; and in a like manner the colour on the Tower, in the centre of this
Picture, and the Rock on which it stands, should be passed over the place

ON THE USE OF THE BRUSH.

91

occupied by the dark Tree. As it would be extremely embarrassing to leave,
in the midst of masses of Shade, minute and scattered lights, — such as the
lights across the Water, and the light on the Figures in the foreground, and
on the Stems of the Trees to the left, — the broad wash of light colour in the
foreground must be taken over them all fearlessly, and when that is dry, these
lights must be obtained by scratching them out of these broad washes with
a sharp penknife, or by wetting the place with clean water, and when nearly
dry, rubbing it smartly with a silk handkerchief over the finger, or with the
Indian Rubber. The great object is, to do this in such a way as to avoid leaving
the edges of the lights thus obtained, or the surface of the paper, woolly. The
Student must here be reminded to observe most rigidly the form of every portion
of colour he is putting on, so that he may make the Lights true and attractive.
He must not have unmeaning blots of colour, but should recollect that every
touch he gives to his Picture should have a form perfectly consistent with the
object to which it is applied. The best practice I can recommend to the Student
is, to copy with the Brush, attending to its peculiarities, the Examples which
are here given to him for the Chalk or Pencil. I have found by experience the
value of this method, as a sure means of acquiring facility and power of execution.

Should these Examples, with those I have already published, be insufficient
to satisfy the Student — to explain every point of practice, to resolve every doubt,
— he must apply to his Tutor, to do that for him which could not be done here,
without extending this volume beyond all reasonable bounds. Here, he must not
expect more than to learn sound principles, — to witness the proofs that they can
be carried into practice, — and to have presented to him instances of their effects.
All works of Art, to be good, must contain them; but the endless methods of
combining them it would be quite impossible to show. When he has attained a
thorough knowledge of those principles, he will select such Examples as are most
accordant with his own taste and feelings. Thus prepared, he will be in little
danger of being either awed by the grave dogmas of antiquated authority, or
captivated by the ichti of fashion ; for it is unlikely that he should select
Examples for imitation which his judgment, founded on attentive observation
of Nature, does not sanction. Even supposing that sufficient time cannot be
commanded for the continued practice of Art, he will still be able, by being
correctly informed, to speak well on a subject which all make a part of their

92

ON THE USE OF THE BRUSH

almost daily conversation : he will neither unthinkingly applaud what is worth-
less, nor condemn what is truly excellent.

I here take leave of my Reader, having placed before him, to the best
of my ability, some of the simple principles of Nature and of Art, — principles
which are essential to Art in its perfection, as well as in its rudiments, —
which are not a Lesson for the day only, but such as he must observe
from the beginning to the end, so often and so long as he continues to practise
Art. Their constant applicability, in every stage and in every department of
Pictorial Art, is indeed their best recommendation to the Student's attention ; and
instead of considering their repetition irksome, he should be delighted that they
are so few, so simple, and so universal in their operation. To teach him these
has been my chief purpose; all that he has learned is applicable to all objects
on which he may employ his Pencil, of whatever kind ; and I strenuously urge
him to test their truth again and again by a reference to Nature, and to look
for their practical exemplification, not only- in the Examples here given, but
in every work of Art, having merit, ancient or modern, by whomsoever painted.
According to the relative excellence of such works, he will assuredly discover
those principles in a greater or less degree ; and this of itself should induce
him to persevere in following that which he finds to be true, as the only secret
of Art which is worth knowing.

APPENDIX.

ON THE MATERIALS.

Though it be true, in a great measure, that materials are good or bad in pro-
portion as they are skillfully used or not; it is equally true, that from some
are to be obtained effects, and expressions of qualities, which no skill can obtain
from others: for this reason, I think it advisable to say what I consider the
best, and why.

That Paper is the best on which can he readily obtained not only the delicate
tones required for skies and distant objects, but also the vigour required for
strongly marked objects in the foreground. These qualities of delicacy and
vigour are best obtained on a Paper, the surface of which is moderately smooth,
such as imperial hot-pressed, or finely-woven, which is better. Bristol-board is
frequently used ; but in consequence of its glassy smoothness, the pencil slides
over it, so that no depth of colour can be obtained, except by such pressure
as deprives the hand of freedom : for the purpose of Chalk-drawing it is nearly
as objectionable; it is impossible, without great labour, to obtain any power;
and if it be chosen to make what is called, or rather mis-called, a highly-finished
Drawing, it would be better at once to take the Brush, which does ten times
as much in one tenth of the time. Rough paper is as bad, in an opposite
extreme : this resists the Chalk or Pencil so much, that everything looks coarse
and powdery; and it is vain to try to gain delicate tones, such as are required
for Distances, and in Figures ; and as it also offers to the Chalk or Pencil a
greater resistance in some places than in others, the evenness of colour, indis-
pensable to Shade, cannot be obtained. Instead of a Drawing Board, a substitute
formed in the following manner, is commonly employed : a number of sheets of
equal size are pressed together and glued at the edges only, and all round;
these are fixed to a tolerably strong mill-board, and the whole forms a most
advantageous flat surface, as solid as a board. The sheet on which the Drawing
is made can be removed instantly. For sketching from Nature it is quite a
luxury. Such substitutes for Boards are called French Blocks, and are to be
had of all the Artists' colourmen.

94

ON THE MATERIALS

The Chalk I prefer is that called Conte. It is to be had of different degrees
of hardness ; but for general purposes that which is cylindrical and glazed,
is the best.

Recently the quality of Lead Pencils, both for the purposes of Art and for
general use, has been greatly improved, in consequence of the discovery, made by
my friend Mr. W. Brockedon, of the mode of preparing pure Plumbago. For
years, no fresh lead has been obtained from the Cumberland mines, and the best
having been exhausted long ago, Lead Pencils were getting every day worse, and
insufferable from grit. To remedy this, composition pencils have been manufac-
tured ; but these possess no lustre nor depth of colour, and it is difficult — some-
times impossible — to efface their markings. By Mr. Brockedon's invention, we
obtain the pure Black Lead, in all its lustre and depth of colour, without a particle
of grit, and of every degree of hardness or softness ; and the markings from all are
easily effaced. So great is the improvement in all respects, even over the Plumbago
in its native state, that it may truly be said, that until now a perfect Lead Pencil
has been unknown. Lead Pencils from Mr. Brockedon's pure Plumbago, are now
manufactured by Messrs. Mordan and Co., and by Messrs. Winsor and Newton.

To get over the difficulty of obtaining local colour with the Chalk or Pencil,
coloured paper is used. On this the high lights are put on, either with white
in a liquid state, or with white Chalk; and the Paper being left for such
objects as are not in themselves white, some notion of the local colour is gained.
As the colour of the Paper is even, the lines of the Chalk or Pencil, are quite as
distinctly seen as on white Paper, while the contrast is not so harsh. White,
whether liquid or dry, should never be used but on such objects as are either
in Nature actually white, or very light ; and the white on them should be more
solid and bright, according to their degree of brilliancy.

White is to be had in metal tubes, in a moist state, and may be either diluted
with water, or used as it is. It always appears somewhat brighter when dry, than
wet, and for this allowance must be made. The best is called Chinese White.

The coloured Paper which I think best adapted for the Lead Pencil, is
a rather warm Grey, as it harmonises best with the colour of the Pencil. It
should be of a depth of colour sufficient to give brilliancy to the Lights. If it be
too dark, it overpowers the Pencil, and makes the Lights look crude ; and if it be
too light, it is scarcely better than white paper. For a long time it was difficult
to obtain this, or indeed, any other tinted paper, of right depth of colour, from
the extreme uncertainty in making it, the grey tints being often of a blue, green,
or red cast. Latterly, however, great improvement has been made in the
manufacture of tinted papers, in consequence of the increased demand for them.
Amongst those who have succeeded best, Messrs. Smith and Allnut seem entitled
to especial mention. Their tinted papers, of different colours and various tones,
are of a quality which allows of the Chalk being used with greater facility and

ON THE MATEKIALS

95

power —a much more efficient instrument than the Pencil, when employed on
tinted papers. These papers also receive colour tolerably well.

I by no means recommend the use of coloured papers to a beginner ; the
effects produced on them are, indeed, more captivating than on white paper ; but
they have a tendency to encourage his natural inclination to rely too much on his
materials, and to render him indifferent to the acquisition of a knowledge of the
principles of Art. White paper is the best, at first, because it exhibits more
distinctly the faults of the Student. I, therefore, earnestly recommend him
to use it at first; and when he afterwards uses coloured paper, he will know
precisely what means it affords him of producing additional likeness to Nature,
and will not expect more from it than it will afford.

All the Skies and Distances should be drawn with long lines ; and if
afterwards they appear too coarse, either the finger, or a soft leather Stump,
passed over them, will reduce their harshness. A still better thing, for this
purpose, is a Hair Pencil, used dry. The Stump, when used with judgment,
is a most serviceable instrument ; with it Skies may be admirably done, charging
it with a sufficient quantity of Chalk or Lead, obtained by rubbing soft Chalk
or a soft Pencil on a coarse piece of paper. The tones it produces are very
aerial ; a quantity of colour is speedily obtained ; the fleeting forms of Clouds
are rapidly secured with it; it subdues the distances of Landscapes to
any required degree, according to the distance or nature of the object, and
overcomes the superabundant evidence of the markings of the Chalk or Pencil
in the Shades. To the Figure it may be applied with the best effect. The
tone of colour produced by the Stump on the Shades and Shadows is often
very beautiful, as it seems to partake of the very nature of Shade, and succeeds
admirably in such parts as are smooth, or comparatively so ; for example, the
Shades on the Trees and Distance in Plate 10; and the Shadows over the
Ground, or the Shaded parts of the Stems of the Beech Trees, in Plate 16 ;
or the Shades on the Buildings, and the Shadow over the Water and Cows,
in Plate 21. Whenever such tones of colour are required, it may be advantage-
ously employed ; and also whenever the too great evidence of the lines on the
Shades or Shadows have a tendency to make them appear too attractive, and
to come forward instead of retiring. It must be understood that I speak of
the Stump only as another and more ready means of carrying out just principles,
as with its speed greater truth is gained, a fact which establishes the best reason
for using it. There can be no advantage in taking the more dilatory and
weaker means, when the more speedy are the more effective.

Indian Rubber is of little use, except to obliterate entirely. From the force
required in the application of it, it spreads the particles of the Lead Pencil, and
thus smears the Paper : for removing Chalk it is useless. Any small portions of
bright light amidst a mass of colour, such as the small lights on the Trunks of the

96

ON THE MATERIALS.

Trees in Plate 10, or such as are under the Arch, may be obtained in the follow-
ing manner :— First, having cut a small hole in a clean piece of paper, lay it
gently on the Drawing, leaving that portion of it which is to be removed to be
seen through the hole ; this may now be rubbed out fearlessly, as the surrounding
paper, if held firmly, protects the surrounding portions of the Drawing.

Bread is the better material, and may be used in two ways ; first, by rolling
it between the thumb and finger into pellets, to subtract the too great depth of
colour from small parts ; this is done by simply pressing a pellet down perpen-
dicularly on the paper, rather hard, and raising it again in the same way, the
superabundant particles of the Lead adhering to it : for this purpose, the bread
must be sufficiently new to retain some of its moisture. In the second way,
by rubbing it into crumbs, the excess of colour in the first sketch, or any
large portion of the Drawing, may be very delicately removed, passing these
crumbs gently over the Drawing, with the inner surface of the four fingers.

Bread is the only means of removing Black Chalk; and in drawing the
Figure, the nicety required on most of the shades is principally to be ob-
tained by it.

There are many modes recommended of fixing Pencil Drawings. I generally
fix mine by first pouring scalding water over them from a jug, or other vessel,
when the drawing is laid flat on a board, and inclined. The loose particles of
the Pencil are, in this way, instantly removed by the body of water, and carried
off before they have time to settle, as they do with some other methods, to
the injury of the Drawing. By this means the size in the paper is softened ;
and this, when the paper dries, is sufficient to hold both the light tints and
the darker so firmly, that the Drawing may be passed, without danger,
through Gum-water or Isinglass, to fix them. The Gum-water, or Isinglass —
which ought never to be so strong as to display shining particles when dry-
should be laid in a flat dish, and the Drawing passed through it. Even if the
Drawing should be on coloured paper, with white lights put on, the white will not
be in the least degree injured or removed by this operation.

One word on the Art which alone could enable me to do this work, —
Lithography.

Many persons dislike to receive from their Tutor, Lithographic Drawings
as Examples for practice : they expect always to receive from him his own
Drawings, not considering that if he have many pupils, his life-time would not
be sufficient to supply them all. It is not required that, the individual who
gives lessons in Language should be the author of the Grammar from which
he teaches, nor that the Musician should be the composer of every piece he
places before his pupils for their practice. Why then should more be required
of the Artist who gives instruction in Drawing ?

Some there are who, admitting the merits of an impression from a Litho-

ON THE MATERIALS

97

graphic Drawing, still prefer, for practice, a copy of it in Chalk or Pencil. This
is like preferring a fac-simile to an autograph ; for an impression from a Litho-
graphic Drawing is as completely an autograph— a Drawing made by the original
designer's own hand— as anything can be that is not so in the strictest sense
of the word. I have many Lithographic Drawings by English and French
Artists. In these Drawings we have all the beauty and power peculiar to their
authors ; but which would be in vain looked for in the best translation or copy.
Thus, by means of Lithography, the public have the advantage of being able to
study what would otherwise be either wholly unattainable, or only to be procured
at so high a price as to be within the reach of very few. Though Lithography
may have also contributed to the dissemination of much that is worthless ; yet
that does not affect the merit of the Art. Sir Walter Scott did not reject
the use of type, because that type which gave to the public his inestimable
works might have printed " trifles light as air ; " nor do the public feel the
pleasure of perusing them alloyed, nor their value the less, from any con-
sideration of the utter worthlessness of what is by the same means placed
before them.

Within the last few years great improvements have been made in Litho-
graphy. In consequence of these improvements, Lithographic Drawings can now
be executed with greater vigour and precision, as well as with greater clearness
and delicacy ; while from the capital improvement of printing a tint over them
with the lights preserved, the expression of space in the distance and of sub-
stance in the more prominent objects is greatly augmented, — the lights being
thus rendered more brilliant, the middle tint more delicate, and the shades
more retiring.

Having said thus much of Lithography — an Art of whose ready means
and appliances I have availed myself on many occasions — I shall conclude by
rendering a willing testimony to the merits of Mr. Hullmandel, who, as a
Printer, has contributed so much to its improvement, as well as to its exten-
sion, in this country.

THE END

Supplementary Plates

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J. D. HARDING

On Drawing

Irecs
Nature

■

A Classic Victorian Manual
with Lessons and Examples

This classic of art instruction is the work of James Duffield Harding
(1 798-1863), who served as drawing master and sketching companion to
the great Victorian art critic, John Ruskin. Generations of students have
benefited from the teachings of this nineteenth-century master, who sought
always to "produce as near a likeness to Nature, in every respect, as the instru-
ment, or material employed, will admit of; not so much by bona fide imitation,
as by reviving in the mind those ideas which are awakened by a contemplation
of Nature . . , The renewal of those feelings constitutes the true purpose of Art."

This volume consists of direct reproductions of Harding's sketches of vignettes
from natural settings. Each is accompanied by a series of lessons emphasizing
both practical and theoretical considerations. The edition features the added
attraction of 23 outstanding plates from the author's Lessons on Trees.

Dover (2005) unabridged republication of the third edition of Elementary Art: or,
the Use of Chalk and Lead Pencil Advocated and Explained, originally published
by David Bogue, London, 1846, and a supplement of 23 plates from the same
author's Lessons on Trees, Day and Son, London, 1855. 160pp. 9K x 12.
Paperbound.

ALSO AVAILABLE

Drawing Outdoors, Henry C, Pitz. 144pp. 8Mx 11. 28679-7

Pen and Pencil Drawing Techniques, Harry Borgman. 256pp. &% x 1 1. 41801-4

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